Two Families Collide
by dazey186
Summary: Xover JJ had a bad childhood but Mt. Horizon helped her move past all that. She goes back to visit old friends but when a series of murders threatens Mt. Horizon she calls the BAU for help. after JJ is transfered. Longer summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: This is a crossover between CM and Higher Ground. For those who are not familiar with HG here is a bit of back ground. MT. Horizon High School is located in the mountains of Washington state near Seattle. It is a School for troubled teens. Some go there willingly as an alternative to Juvenile hall and some are sent there by their parents a last resort. It is not just a school in the academic sense. The 'students' cook, clean and are essentially the support staff for the school to teach them responsibility. Also they use Hiking, rock climbing campouts ect. As a way to learn life lessons and gain a sense of accomplishment. Students are not allowed to leave campus without express permission once they have gained certain privileges and when any rules are broken they are punished in various ways. From manual labor to 'shunning' which means they are to attend all classes and activities but are not allowed to interact with the others.**

**AJ Cook (JJ) was on this show as one of the students with a troubled past. For the purpose of this story I am going to ignore certain things from CM such as Will and the baby. JJ is not married and is not a mother. Her full name is Jennifer Shelby Jereau. She attended Mt. Horizon during her sophomore year and although she did not want to leave Mt. Horizon she chose to move when her mother got remarried and moved to Pittsburgh, eventually changing her last name from Merrick to Jeareau (after her new step father). It was her time at Mt. Horizon that gave her the strength and ability to move forward eventually leading to her scholarship and her position in the FBI. **

**It has been 3 months since she was forced to transfer from her position in the BAU. Upon her transfer she was promised a 2 week vacation along with her new position. She is still unhappy with the fact she was not given a choice in taking this new position and struggling with the separation from her team (her family). In an attempt to refocus and remind herself of what is important she decides to go back to Mt. Horizon for 2 weeks to help out. Being in the outdoors and helping the students there was sure to remind her that this transfer was not the end of the world and she could deal with anything. **

**What she did not expect was to find some of her old cliffhanger friends working at the school. She also didn't think she would need to call the BAU for help when 2 victims are found and The school director, Peter needs to keep his staff and students safe from both a killer and possible accusations.**

**I do not own Higher ground or Criminal minds**

Chapter 1:

The plane touched down at SeaTac airport and JJ could feel herself relax. It was funny to her that when she was first brought to Mt. Horizon she was resentful and hated the idea of being there. Back then she believed that no one could understand what she had gone through. She was ashamed of what had been done to her and ashamed of the things she had done to herself. Mt. Horizon had taught her so much and had truly been her salvation. It was not the punishment that she had originally believed. It was the place she found her first true father figure. Peter Scarboro, the director and now owner of the school had live through his own demons. He had fought addictions and devoted his life to helping kids. Peter had such a bad alcohol and drug addiction that he had lost his career, his first marriage and nearly his life but Frank the founder of the school saved him. Now Peter was giving second chances to others.

She remembered her time at Mt. Horizon with a mixture of fondness and sadness. It was a place that she had found true friends that understood her. Daisy, the death obsessed goth who was the daughter of alcoholics. She had suffered abuse and neglect from her parents. This led to the desire to shock others around her with her morbid attitude and dark attire. Surprisingly Daisy had become her closest friend at Mt. Horizon. This was probably because Daisy did not push, she simply listened when needed and allowed JJ to be her closed of cynical self.

There were the other cliffhangers. At Mt. Horizon the students were separated into groups like summer camp. They went to class together, worked together, bunked together, and did their outdoor events together. Peter believed this would teach them that it was ok to rely on others and to show them that they could trust. JJ had to admit that by the time she had left Mt. Horizon this method had truly worked.

She and the other cliffhangers had their differences but in reality they truly were like a family. The only family any of them truly had at the time. In addition to Daisy there was Auggie, who had been brought into the world of gangs and drugs by his brother. Ezira, who used his chemistry skills to make his own drugs when his home life fell apart. His parents had adopted him but instead of gaining a loving stable him he was brought into a volatile situation where it became obvious that he had been adopted as a tool to help heal an already broken marriage. Kat who was plagued with such guilt over not being able to save her little sister from drowning she had turned to picking fights and finding ways to cause herself pain. These people all became her family in a way. Even the one person she never seemed to be able to get along with, Juliet.

JJ smiled to herself as she thought of the old nickname she had given the girl, Queeny. Juliet was a bulimic and a cutter. Now JJ couldn't help but feel sympathy for the girl. She had been so messed up by her mother. Her mother's five failed marriages were, obviously, Juliets fault. The fact Juliet did not become head cheerleader was, no doubt, because she was overweight (at her whopping 110 pounds). JJ had never gotten along with Juliet because back then she was resentful of the fact that Juliet had chosen to hurt herself. She knew better now. She understood so much more now how all of them were products of their environment and how much worse they could have turned out. The things she saw with the BAU sometimes came so close to what she had once known.

As she thought about this she realized just how bad things could have been for any of the people she knew at Mt. Horizon. If she was being honest with herself she knew there were two people that could have easily fit some of the profiles the team had developed. One of those people had crossed her mind often over the years.

Mt. Horizon had not only given her a second chance and a sense of family but it had given her a first love. Scott was angry and closed off when he first arrived at Mt. Horizon. When he was first assigned to the cliffhangers almost all of them had wondered what could possibly have been so bad in his life. He was tall blond good looking. He was the popular star football player who even as a sophomore had colleges scouting him. Yet he was throwing it all away with fights, partying, drinking, and drugs.

As he and JJ got closer to one another he finally confided in her. His step mother had been molesting him. The real problem was that she had started seducing him making him feel like the advances were something he honestly desired. She actually had him convinced that they were in love. It wasn't until his own guilt and disgust at himself became too much that he tried to put a stop to it, but stopping was something his step mother would not do. She convinced him it was his fault and that he truly wanted it, he was the guy after all, if he really didn't want it he could force her to stop. She had truly done a number on Scott. Then when Scott finally told his father and CPS, his step mother manipulated the situation to make herself seem like the victim. The only people that believed him were the others at Mt. Horizon.

Sometimes JJ felt as if their bond was because their situations were so similar. Yes JJ was the other person who could have turned out to fit the many BAU profiles. Her mother's second husband her first step dad had molested her. He had come into her room every night. This abuse caused her to runaway and each time she was brought home she would run again. She still hated what she had been at the age of fifteen. She was thankful that the others in her BAU family had never known about her past. Hotch knew because these things had been in her personnel files but he had thankfully never told the others. It wasn't that she did not trust them. No, she knew they would not judge her but the things she had done to survive were not things she liked to revisit.

The last time she had runaway she lived on the streets, done drugs, and used anything she could to get money. Anything had included selling herself. It was when she saw a friend od and her mother found her on the streets that she was sent to Mt. Horizon.

Yes, JJ thought again. Mt. Horizon had truly saved her. It had given her the strength to stand up to her mother about ignoring the abuse. It had given her the strength to turn her step father in. It had helped her to be there for her little sister Jess when she found out she had also suffered at the hands of that awful man. It had given her the confidence to move forward with her life, go to college and join the FBI.

Her life was not perfect by any means. She had thought that Jess had dealt with what had happened only to find out that she had been too scared mentally. JJ wished that her little sister had been able to move on as she had and that suicide would not have been the only answer. She missed Jess everyday and hated the fact that she wasn't able to save her sister the way the people at Mt. Horizon had saved her. Unfortunately she had learned that life was never perfect and sometimes there are simply things you cannot control.

When JJ chose to leave Mt. Horizon to move with her mother, sister, and new step dad to Pennsylvania she had promised to keep in touch with everyone. At first she had kept that promise but as the years passed it became harder and harder to stay in contact. It was surprising when she made the decision to leave. Before the end of the school year Scott had the chance to go home and start his life over. His dad had divorced his step mom and told Scott that he did not blame him for what Elaine had done. They hadn't even left town before Scott realized that his dad did not truly stop blaming him. He had come back to Mt. Horizon and JJ couldn't have been happier.

Before the new school year started the two of them were faced with separation again. JJ left to try to start her life over and Scott finished school at Mt. Horizon. They tried to maintain their relationship but the distance and circumstances proved to be too much. JJ was fixing the problems within her family while Scott was unable to reconnect with his father. The last time they had spoken was bitter sweet. They knew that things had changed between them but that they both had to continue to move on separately. That conversation had happened six months after her departure from Mt. Horizon. And was one of the last times she had spoken to any of the cliffhangers.

Over the last few years she had reconnected with Peter. The BAU was on a case in Seattle a few years back and she had decided to give her old mentor a call. They did not have a lot of time to catch up but were able to meet for a quick lunch. He was so pleased to see how much she had done with her life. Since then they had shared emails and the occasional phone call. All of these things are the reasons she had decided to spend her vacation in the mountains of Washington.

JJ was brought out of her thoughts and memories as she pulled up to the main lodge. She put her rental car in park and jumped out. It was so good to feel and smell the clean mountain air. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. The quiet was disturbed when she heard someone move to stand next to her. "Welcome home." Said a kind deep voice. JJ turned her head to the right to find Peter standing next to her.

She smiled before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "it's good to be back."

Peter returned her hug as he responded. "We'll see if you're still saying that after you join us on tomorrows hike."

JJ pulled away and smiled. "Bring it on. I'm not that whiney little teen anymore remember?"

"That is very true. Here let's get your things. I have a room ready for you in the guest lodge."

"Guest lodge?" JJ asked surprised.

"Oh yeah, over the years the success of the school has gotten around which has led to more funding. We've been able to expand a bit. We built a guest lodge which is mostly used during parent's weekend." Peter answered.

JJ was thrilled to hear that the school was finally able to do things like expand. In the past it had been a struggle to fund the school and its programs.

"Yeah, it's been great because we've been able to take on more students." Another voice said from behind her.

JJ whirled around to see Sophie, one of her old counselors and Peter's second wife standing there. "Soph!" JJ exclaimed hugging the woman who had done so much for her even as JJ continually gave her a hard time.

Sophie returned her hug, excited to see her former student. She pulled away before saying "It's good to see you Shelby."

JJ grimaced at the name. It had been so many years since anyone had called her that. When she was younger and the abuse began _he _would call her Jenny kitten. After that she had asked everyone to call her by her middle name. It took a long time before she started using her first name again, and then her BAU family started calling her JJ. Suddenly she realized how different the two parts of her life truly were.

"Sophie, I know I mentioned to you that she goes by Jennifer of JJ now… Didn't I?" Peter asked.

"I know but I guess she'll always be Shelby to me." Sophie said as they all began walking toward the guest lodge.

JJ rolled her eyes. "It's fine Shelby, Shel, Jennifer, JJ, Agent Jereau. I'll answer to any of them."

They all laughed at her response. As they walked toward the lodge Peter and Sophie pointed out all of the improvements that had been made to the school. They had added four new student cabins. Horse stables had also been added. This made JJ smile as she remembered the horse that the cliffhangers had found abused and abandoned. The poor animal could have died. It took a liking to her and followed her almost everywhere. When the vet told them that it needed to be constantly walked because of colic she and her fellow cliffhangers stayed up all night taking turns walking the horse. Thankfully she survived and was now apparently living in Mt. Horizons new stable.

Peter also told her that they had been able to upgrade the kitchen and all of the safety equipment. They were able to purchase new kayaks and rafts. JJ absolutely loved knowing how well things seemed to be going for the school.

Peter and Sophie left JJ to get settled in after making her promise to meet them at five for dinner. She was looking forward to catching up with them more as well as enjoying a relaxing evening. Peter had told her that they would be taking two groups out on a day hike in the morning. She was excited but she knew it would be an exhausting day.

JJ unpacked her clothes hanging them all in the closet. She then pulled out the heavy lockbox that held her gun placing it safely in the very back of the nightstand drawer. She had already told Peter she had it with her but promised to keep it hidden and locked safely away at all times. It felt odd to change out of her usual professional attire and hip holster to jeans and a long sleeve t shirt without the usual weight of her gun on her hip.

It may have seemed strange to others but after all her years with the BAU she had gotten into the habit of keeping her gun with her at all times. She knew, as did the rest of her old team, that they could get a call and need to be prepared to leave at any moment. This habit wasn't necessary in her new position but it was something that she had not been able to stop doing.

By the time she had finished unpacking and changing clothes it was almost five o'clock. She pulled on a pair of boots and grabbed her brown leather messenger bag before heading to the main lodge to meet Peter and Sophie.

JJ was standing on the steps of the main lodge waiting for Peter and Sophie when someone came out the front door. "Hi, can I help you?"

JJ turned to look at the person who spoke. She was a tall woman with long brown hair pulled back into a pony tail. She looked familiar to JJ but it wasn't until she caught a glimpse of the girls upper arm that she realized who it was she was looking at. On her upper right arm was a long scar that was from one of the many times she had cut herself. It was a shock for JJ to see this woman so different yet so similar to the girl she once knew.

Obviously she did not recognize JJ. "Actually I'm just waiting for Peter and Sophie we're going to dinner."

"Oh well I just saw Peter in his office he should be out in a few moments, would you like me to show you where it is?" The girl asked.

"No it's fine I don't mind waiting out here." JJ replied and then decided to shake the girl up a bit. "Thanks anyway Juliet."

Juliet started at her words before responding. "I'm sorry but how do you know my name, do I know you?" she looked at JJ more closely.

JJ smile. "Come on queeny I know I've changed but I don't look that different do I?"

Juliet's mouth dropped open "Shelby? Shelby Merrick?"

JJ shrugged "Actually its Jereau now, I took my new step dad's name after we moved and well most people call me Jennifer of JJ now but yeah it's me."

"Oh my god!" Juliet shrieked and launched herself at JJ. She hugged her tightly "What are you doing here?"

JJ pulled away and smiled "I have a few weeks of vacation. I talked to Peter and asked him if he minded some extra help for a few weeks."

"That's great! So do you know exactly what you'll be doing while you're here?" Juliet asked.

"Not actually. I told Peter I would help out with anything I could. What about you? I didn't realize you were still involved with the school."

"Yeah after I graduated I got my teaching degree with a minor in Psychology. I contacted Peter and told him I couldn't see myself doing anything but working at Mt. Horizon. I've been here for four years now."

JJ smiled "Good for you. I hadn't realized just how much I missed this place until I got here. It's really nice to be back."

"Yeah it's amazing how many good memories can come from such a crappy time in life right?" Juliet said.

"I know what you mean." JJ paused. "Hey Juliet, you know I just want to say… I know I really horrible to you back then… and I well… I'm sorry about all of that."

Juliet waved away her apology. "Thanks Shelby but really there's no need. We were kids, really messed up kids. Believe me it's water under the bridge."

Just as they finished talking Peter and Sophie came out of the lodge. "Ah, I see we have a bit of a reunion going on." Peter said.

"Peter I can't believe you didn't tell us Shelby would be here!" Juliet exclaimed. "I mean I can't wait until…"

Sophie interrupted her "We wanted it to be a surprise. And It seems as if it was a good surprise. Actually Shel is going to take your place on the hike tomorrow since you have to meet with Andrew's parents."

JJ merely looked confused so Juliet explained. "I teach here but I am also in charge of the cliffhangers. One of the kids, has been here for about two months now and his parents want a personal update." She rolled her eyes. "It is unusual but since they flew in from Texas someone has to meet with them. I spend the most time with Andrew since he is a cliffhanger so Peter thought I should meet with them."

JJ nodded in understanding. It was unusual for parents to want updates like that but maybe this kid hadn't burned too many bridges with his family. Maybe they hadn't lost complete faith in him yet.

Peter, Sophie and JJ all said goodbye to Juliet and headed into town. They decided to go to the diner. They found a table near a window. JJ noticed that the menu had not really changed over the years. She ordered a burger, fries and a coke. When the waitress came back over with their drinks she looked at JJ as if she wanted to say something but thought better of it. JJ wasn't sure what to make of that reaction.

While they waited for their food Sophie and Peter asked her about her life since leaving Mt. Horizon. They were sad to hear about Jess. Peter had tried to convince both JJ and her mother that Jess would benefit from attending Mt. Horizon just as JJ had, but they had wanted to put everything behind them and move forward.

They were thrilled to hear her stories of college and her success both academically and athletically. She told them how she focused on soccer and gaining a scholarship so that she would be able to get a good education. They were also interested to hear how she went from having a degree in communications to joining the FBI. JJ was just explaining to them what had made her want to join the agency when the waitress brought over their food.

"I'm sorry Peter, Sophie, I don't mean to interrupt but…" she looked to JJ " you look familiar to me."

JJ looked at the girl who was obviously of Asian heritage. She was about to respond when Peter spoke.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think . JJ this is Gracie Yao, Annie's daughter." He looked at Gracie "Gracie this is Agent Jennifer Jareau, you may remember her is Shelby though."

Gracie's eyes widened. "Shelby, you're the one who found me on the cliff when I was little."

Peter looked confused "What? No Ezra found you that dad not Shelby."

JJ now remembered the girl. She had grown into a beautiful young woman. She remembered when Peter had asked the cliffhangers to help search for a little girl who had wandered away from her mother when they were camping. Gracie was maybe four or five back then.

"No I remember Shelby found me but she gave me to that boy to carry back." Gracie said.

JJ looked a bit embarrassed. "I don't know why I didn't want anyone to know I helped her. Back then it was easier to let people believe it didn't care about anything."

Peter shook his head with a fond smile. He remembered how closed off JJ had been back then. It was no surprise she would let someone else take the credit for helping the little girl.

Gracie thanked JJ again and told her she would love to see her before her vacation was over. She then went back to work waiting tables in her mother's diner leaving the three to enjoy their dinner.

"It's good to see the town is still as welcoming as ever." JJ said.

Sophie shook her head. "Most of the town is but a few years ago some developers came in the opened a resort a few miles south of town. They had tried to buy the school from Peter but we refused. Then when we started expanding and taking on more kids some of the newer residents started to question how safe it was to have MT. Horizon here."

JJ furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"Well some of the people who moved in to work for the resort started saying it wasn't safe to have so many delinquent kids free to do whatever they like." Peter shook his head. "They don't understand what Mt. Horizon is all about. I don't think they really ever will."

"I don't think that's the problem Peter." JJ said "The problem is they want your property."

Peter nodded "Most likely but most of the people who have seen how much good the school does will not listen to anything said against it."

As they ate JJ continued to fill them in on her life. Peter and Sophie noticed that most of her stories revolved around her team members at the BAU. She talked about these people as if they were family and it made them smile to know she had people she truly trusted.

She told them everything she had learned from working with these incredibly intelligent people. It had always amazed her how such different personalities could work like a well oiled machine. They fed off each other. All of them brining something different to the table. Hotch with his constantly level head. Rossi and his experience and extensive knowledge of criminal behavior. Morgan who was an expert in obsessive behavior but had grown to so much more of a well rounded agent. Emily, who had surprised all of them when she joined the team with her knowledge of languages and observation skills. Spencer who was just amazing with the extent of things he knew and understood. And Garcia, JJ's favorite hacker. That woman could do almost anything with a computer but her quirks and odd humor were what she loved best about Garcia. With everything the team had seen and been through it was good to have someone who could keep you smiling.

Peter and Sophie were amazed at the stories JJ told them. They had a hard time understanding how anyone could deal with seeing the kind of things JJ and her friends had seen. They noticed she seemed almost wistful as she spoke of her fellow agents from the BAU.

"You miss working with them don't you?" Sophie asked.

"More than I thought possible. I know it seems odd. I mean the things we deal with in the BAU are horrific but… if we didn't deal with these things who would? I mean I'm not a profiler but after so many years you start to pick things up and damn it I was good at my job!" JJ's voice got louder as she spoke. "Sorry, it's just that I wasn't given the choice. I turned down the position three times. Eventually the director forced me into the transfer."

"I'm sure your team misses you just as much as you miss them." Sophie said.

JJ nodded. "I know and I know it isn't like I can never speak to them but it's so different. I know how crazy the BAU can get in terms of a schedule. In the last few months I think I've talked to Garcia maybe twice and the only other person I've been able to talk to is Spencer and that was for all of two minutes. I accepted I wouldn't be working with them anymore but I feel like I've lost them completely."

They talked a little longer before leaving the diner. Once they arrived back at the school Peter and Sophie left JJ. She walked back to the guest lodge while they went to do bed checks before turning in themselves.

Sherriff Curtis Swann was working the night shift. He pulled out of the station and began his first of four nightly patrols. Bakerville was a small town and even with the kids who attended Mt. Horizon there was very little crime in his town. This meant that his shift would consist of a thirty minuet patrol every two hours. It was routine but it was his job. Other than the occasional runner from the school the most action the saw as sheriff was a search and rescue or animal attack. Even in those cases he typically let the rangers or animal control take over.

He had almost finished his circuit around town and was ready to head back to the station when dispatch came over his radio. Apparently the Dawson family had call into the station. Jack Dawson eighteen, recent high school graduate had not returned home from his weekend training. He had joined the Army Reserves when he graduated. It seemed that he should have arrived home early in the evening but no one had seen nor heard from him.

Granted he could not be considered missing as of yet however it was a good possibility that he had simply had car trouble somewhere on his way home. Sherriff Swann would go to his parents' house and reassure them that everything was fine but that he would also drive out toward the highway to see if his car had simply broken down somewhere. He would also put a call in to the state police notifying them of Jack's plate number in case he hadn't made it closer to town.

Mr. and Mrs. Dawson thanked the Sherriff and explained that they were simply worried. I was not like Jack to be late without calling. What concerned them even more was that it was his younger sister's birthday and he had promised that he would be back in time to have dinner and watch a movie with her. Jack would never break a promise like that.

The Sherriff assured them that he understood their concern and that he would do everything he could to make sure they had word of Jack's whereabouts as soon as possible.

After leaving the Dawson home Sherriff Swann drove out the main road toward the Highway. While he drove he notified dispatch that they should contact the state police about the situation and ask them to keep an eye out for Jack's car. He drove slower than normal along the main road keeping an eye out for any stranded motorist. He was certain this was the route Jack would have driven on his way back home.

About seven miles outside of town the Sherriff saw a car pulled alongside the road. The hazard lights were flashing. _Car trouble like I said._ The Sherriff thought. He pulled his truck over facing the car. He did not see anyone inside the car but the trunk was open. He got out of his vehicle and walked around to the back of the car expecting to find Jack getting out a spare tire. What he did not expect to find was the young man on the ground with his throat slashed.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I do not own Higher Ground or Criminal Minds.**

Chapter 2:

JJ was awakened at five am by the alarm set on her cell phone. She showered and pulled on a pair of jeans and t-shirt. It looked as if it was going to be a fairly warm day for early fall and she knew she could pack a jacket to carry along with them. After putting her hair in a pony tail she put on her hiking boots lacing them up tightly. Before leaving her room she hesitated, she had promised Peter she would keep her gun locked away but over the years she had learned to always be prepared. After a lot of internal debate she moved to the nightstand drawer and pulled out her gun. She pulled up her pant leg and strapped on an ankle holster and securing the firearm. She would tell Peter but no one else needed to know she was armed. She knew she was being paranoid but something in her gut was telling her not to take chances.

She left the guest lodge with a flashlight in hand. The sun was just beginning to rise and the moon had yet to completely disappear but there was still very little light to guide her. When she reached the main lodge she saw that the great room was full of activity. There were around sixteen students all preparing their packs. None of them looked like they were fully awake yet. Despite the early hour they were all talking to each other and seemed excited to the days hike. Finally she noticed Peter sitting near the fireplace preparing his pack and smiling at the semi awake students.

She quietly made her way to him. "Please tell me there is coffee somewhere in this place. I am allowed to have coffee now right?"

Peter looked up at her and rolled his eyes. "Good morning to you too JJ. If caffeine is something you have incorporated back into your life you are more than welcome to it." He pointed over his shoulder. "You know where the kitchens are. Help yourself. But hurry you need to get your pack ready."

She nodded and made her way to the kitchen. She had forgotten what it was like to get up at this hour for recreational purposes. After getting her coffee she went back out to the great room so she could prepare her pack.

She sat down next to Peter. It had been a long time since she had to get a hiking pack ready. "Hey Peter." She said quietly "I know I promised to keep the gun locked away but…" she trailed off as he looked at her.

"You know why I asked you to do that but let me guess you didn't feel right leaving it and not knowing when we would be back to campus?" he said.

She nodded. "Yeah and I don't know maybe it's purely habit but I just feel like it's better to keep it with me."

"That's fine." He glanced over her body. "I can't even tell you are carrying it so I can't see any of the kids figuring it out. As long as it stays that way I'm okay with it."

She sighed. "Thanks."

Peter had now finished his pack and stood to see if any of the kids needed any help. JJ took the time to look around the room. Suddenly she felt as if she had been transported back in time. Although none of them would have admitted it back then she and her friends always looked forward to activities like these.

"Alright listen up!" Peter called to the room "I hope all of you are ready for today. This will only be a day hike but it is not going to be an easy one. We will not be taking a nature trail today and I do not want to hear any whining." He paused as a few groans and grumbles could be heard around the room. "Now it may surprise you all to know that your counselors will not be joining us today."

Apparently this news was not only new to JJ but to all of the students as well.

"Cliffhangers, Juliet has to attend a parent meeting. Ridge Runners, Adam called me this morning he's apparently feeling a bit under the weather but will be back with us as soon as possible. That being said I have two more than capable replacements. One you already know, although he is not here yet so we'll worry about that later." Again Peter paused and smile at JJ.

"I would like you all to meet a good friend of mine as well as a former student here. She will be leading her old group, the Cliffhangers. JJ why don't you come up and introduce yourself?" Peter waived her forward. "Kids I would like you all to me Agent Jennifer Jareau."

JJ shook her head at Peter's dramatic introduction. Never the less she walked to the front of the room to stand next to Peter.

"Hi guys, As Peter said I'm a former student and Cliffhanger. I had no idea I would be leading a group today." She glared at Peter. "I thought I was just tagging along, seems like Peter still like to throw obstacles at us. Anyway please call me JJ and know that I'll be around for the next few weeks if anyone needs my help or just wants to talk."

There were a few seconds of silence before a boy standing in the back spoke. "Peter introduced you as Agent Jereau, what kind of agent?"

JJ chuckled knowing she was going to have to give her ridiculous title. "Special Agent Jennifer Jereau FBI, liaison to the department of defense."

Now one of the girls spoke up in a tone of voice that was somewhere between cynical and awe. "So let me get this straight you were a student her at our little school for rejects and now you're and FBI agent?"

"Yes…" Shelby was about to tell them a little bit about her story but she was interrupted.

"Shelby?" the voice was barely audible but she would recognize it anywhere.

She shifted her gaze to the entrance and stood speechless. It was one thing to run into Juliet but to see him standing there had completely thrown her for a loop. Before she could form any idea of something to say Peter said "Ah and here's our other group leader. You all know Scott."

Scott hadn't even seemed to notice that Peter had spoken. The kids seemed to notice the slight tension in the air before Peter spoke again. "Alright everyone outside and ready to leave in five."

Peter made sure all of the kids let the great room and made their way outside before leaving his two former students, two of the biggest success stories Mt. Horizon ever had, to talk.

JJ had finally regained some of her composure as Scott came out of his initial shock.

"Hi Scott." JJ said as she took in the appearance of the first boy she ever loved. He was still tall and lean it was easy to see the signs of his athletic past. His hair was a bit darker than the blond it had been when they were teens. It was cropped closer to his head and she could only see a hint of the curls she had loved so much. He looked good, older, stronger, happy.

Scott tried to think. He wanted to say something anything, that didn't show how completely tongue tied he felt. Instead he said the only thing he could think. "What are you doing here?"

JJ looked at him, not expecting him to sound quite so indifferent. "I had a few weeks of vacation time and asked Peter if he could use some help around here. What about you? It sounds like you're not a new face around here."

Scott wasn't sure what he was feeling at the moment. It was as if his entire body had gone numb upon seeing his old girlfriend. He sank into the chair near the fireplace and looked at her. She was still beautiful. She hadn't changed much over the years, her hair was still long. She was thinner but in a healthy way. He knew that she had started playing soccer after her move and the years of athletics had done her well.

"I work here now. I finished med school and after a year of working in the ER I called Peter. Mt. Horizon had done so much for me; I wanted to do something for them. Money has never been a big issue for me. My dad's way of trying to make up for everything with Elaine was to pay for my education and set me up with a nice little trust fund. I told Peter that I would like to work at Mt. Horizon as an onsite doctor."

JJ smiled at him. "That's great Scott. Its sounds like you've done really well, and I think having a doctor on campus is really smart."

Scott shrugged. He didn't want to be praised. He came back to Mt. Horizon because it had become so much more than a school to him. He spent three years of his life here; it felt more like a home than anywhere else. "I don't know I thought about when we went to school here. There was no onsite doctor and I mean with all the issues the kids have and all the outdoor activities it just seemed like a good idea."

JJ nodded in understanding.

"What about you? Did I hear something about the FBI earlier?" He asked.

"Yeah I joined the agency after I finished my undergrad about five years ago." JJ answered.

The conversation stalled after that and they both simply looked at each other. Neither of them seemed to know what else to say. Thankfully Peter had come back inside telling them that the kids were all ready and it was time to head out on the hike.

They smiled at one another and shouldered their packs. It was such a familiar action from a completely different time. They walked outside to see their two groups listing to another one of Peter's speeches. He was telling the kids that while each group had separate leaders this was not a separate hike. This was not a competition. This was meant to be a bonding experience. It was to show the students that while they were two groups they were still meant to help the other to reach a goal.

Sherriff Swann sat at his desk drinking his fifth cup of coffee of the morning and it was barely 7 am. After finding the body of Jack Dawson the Sherriff called for backup as well as the coroner. He and his deputies searched the area while the coroner took the body to the county morgue. Crime scene came in to check out the area but there was no valid evidence nor was there any sign of anyone in the surrounding area. From what they could tell it looked as if Jack did have car trouble, a flat tire. That assumed that he had pulled over and was going to change the tire but was not able to do more than walk to the back of the car.

The Crime scene technician said it looked as if his attacker had come from behind and slit the boys throat. What surprised the sheriff was that there were no signs of struggle. They were waiting for the coroner's report, hoping that it could tell them more.

Telling the Dawson family had been one of the hardest things Sherriff Swann had ever had to do. His mother barely said a word. He had driven then to the morgue to identify the body. It felt cruel to make them go through such an ordeal but by law the identification needed to be made by next of kin if possible.

Jack had still been in his BDUs when his body was found. Mr. Dawson told Sherriff Swann that this was not normal for Jack and he could not understand why the boy would not have changed before leaving his weekend training.

The answer to this question was something the sheriff was about to find out. He picked up the phone placing a call to Jack Dawson's commanding officer for his reserve unit.

"Captain Reynolds" A gruff voice answered.

"This is Sherriff Curtis Swann of Bakerville. I'm calling about Private Jack Dawson."

"What can I do for you sherriff?"

"Well sir I have a few questions for you but first I need to inform you of some unpleasant news. Last night Jack Dawson was found about seven miles outside of town. He was murdered." Sherriff Swann hated how blunt he had been but there truly was not delicate way to deliver this kind of news.

"Excuse me? Did you tell me one of my men has been murdered?" Capt. Reynolds asked

"Yes sir. He was expected home last night and when he was over five hours late his parents contacted me. While he was not considered missing I still promised them that I would take a drive to see if he had possible had care problems or something along the way. As I said I found him not far from town."

"Has COD been determined? I know that Jack is only a private in the reserves but do you believe I will need to call into the military authorities?"

"No sir I do not believe that is necessary. We are still waiting on Crime scene and coroner reports but right now I am acting under the assumption that this was an act of opportunity. That being said it seems as if the COD was knife wound to the throat. There were neither obvious signs of blunt force trauma nor signs of struggle." Sheriff Swann went on to tell him about the flat tire and how he felt that Jack had simply broken down in the wrong place at the wrong time. He explained to the captain about Jack's attire. The captain told him that was most likely because he had been granted leave early in the day. Jack had completed morning workout and then was able to leave the base. While this was not common practice he had put in a request months ago to be exempt from the full weekend training.

Sherriff Swann finished his call, thanking the captain for the information. He sat back in his chair and thought about what he had just learned. Jack had left base by ten that morning it was a three hour drive back to Bakerville. He did not find Jack's body until midnight that means there is approximately eleven hours of unaccounted time from when Jack should have made it home until he was found.

They had been hiking for almost an hour now. It did not take long for the kids to wake up and start enjoying the hike. Peter and Scott were behind the group of kids. Part of the activity was to give the students the confidence to accomplish the task with as little help from the staff as possible. They were expected to read the map find and recognize trail markings and decide the best way to deal with any obstacles that they came across. Scott had been quite for the most part. Peter wasn't sure if he was simply keeping an eye on the kids or if he was silently listening as some of the students bombarded JJ with questions. He was almost positive it was the latter.

Some of the older students who had been here for a few years were anxious to hear how and why JJ had turned her life around. They had questioned her about what it was like after she left Mt. Horizon. They wanted to know if it was hard for her to stay away from old habits. Scott listened intently as she talked to the students about her life. She told them that she had been scared leaving Mt. Horizon but she knew she couldn't stay here forever. He smiled a bit as he saw most of the kids look at her understandingly. No one ever wanted to come to Mt. Horizon. Coming here meant there was a problem and none of the kids would ever admit that once they had been here for a while they were afraid to leave. Scott himself had felt that way it took a year and finding Shelby to make him realize that things could get better and that it was Mt. Horizon that could help things get better.

"You know you could just talk to her instead of eavesdropping." Peter said

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked him.

"I'm talking about JJ, just go talk to her. Don't tell me you aren't happy to see her."

"No it's great to see her. And what's with the JJ thing" He asked

Peter smiled and rolled his eyes. "She took her new dad's name a few years after they moved, Jereau. She also started going by her first name again. Shelby is her middle name." He sighed. "Look Scott I probably should have told you she was coming but I wasn't even sure what to say. A few years ago she was in Seattle on a case and looked me up. We've kept in contact since then. When she emailed me about visiting I was just excited to see her again."

Scott wasn't sure what to think. "So you've been talking to her for years now and didn't think to mention it?"

Peter shrugged. "Honestly you've been back for almost a year and other than seeing Jules again you never asked about any of your old friends. I never mentioned it because I… well I really never saw a time or reason to. I'm sorry I should have told you.

"Yeah you should have." Scott said a bit forcefully then softened his tone. "I'm not even sure I can talk to her everything is different now. She's different, even her name."

"Your right you are both different but deep down your are the same people. She's still Shelby no matter what we call her. I just got used to JJ because of all our emails." He put a hand on Scott's shoulder. "Think of it this way, you are still the same people just a little older, more mature, and with a few less issues. If you were able to find a way to love each other back then, you should at least be able to be friends now."

With that said Peter moved to the front of the group. They had just come to a block in the trail. They would need to climb to the top of the twenty foot cliff to continue on with their hike. He helped the kids pair off this would be a two by two climb. Peter smiled to himself when he thought about who should be the last group to climb.

"Okay, I'm going to gear up first and make my way up. The rest of you follow two by two. Scott, JJ, you follow last. Keep an eye on the others. Make sure the lines don't cross and that they are all geared up properly. "

Scott stared at Peter as if he had two heads. He wasn't even sure what to say to the girl he fell in love with when he was sixteen and now he was going to have to go rock climbing with her.

JJ finished helping one of the girls secure her climbing gear before walking over to Scott. She could tell he wasn't entirely comfortable. She decided that the only way they would be able to get through the next two weeks was to cut through the tension. Channeling her inner Shelby, the girl who was always blunt, and her confidence from years of being the face of the BAU she looked at him. "Look Scott I imagine my being here is not something you anticipated but can we please not make this awkward?"

"I'm sorry Sh… JJ I just don't know what to say." Scott said.

JJ smiled sadly. "You can call me Shelby, Scott. And you don't have to say anything. We knew each other years ago and we don't really know each other now so how about we just start from the beginning?" She smiled at him and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you Dr. Berringer, I'm Agent Jennifer Shelby Jereau. "

He smiled at the gesture. "Nice to meet you."

After that things were easier between the two. They talked and got to know one another as if they were two strangers who had just met. There would always be that feeling from the past. Deep down they would both need to address their past but for now it was nice getting to know each other

Scott told her that he had the chance to go back home again after his second year at Mt. Horizon. He could have finished school at a normal high school. He even could have played football again. The problem was his father still had primary custody and things had never gone back to normal between them. He chose to stay at Mt. Horizon even though he had his addictions, and anger under control. After high school he moved to Arizona to be close to his mom, where he attended Arizona State for both his undergrad and graduate studies. He told her that college wasn't easy for him. There were a lot of temptations on campus and it took a lot of will power for him to stay away from old vices. Focusing on school was what kept him away from those things.

JJ understood exactly what he meant it was soccer and academics that kept her from falling back into old habits. She listened while Scott told her how he had started out his freshman year with an undeclared major, but after realizing that classes would keep him focused he found his interest in the medical field.

JJ was so proud of Scott. They had both come so far from the broken troubled teens they had been. She in return told him about her life. College and how a degree in communications led to a job with the bureau as a media liaison. She told him stories about her time with the BAU. He listened as she talked animatedly about her team, her friends. He had a hard time hearing about some of the things she had seen and dealt with. Granted most of the situations that she had found herself in were not entirely dangerous but some were downright terrifying. What scared him the most was that some of these people she worked with had been targeted by people they had gone after. What if one day the same thing happened to her? He found himself being thankful that she had been transferred to the Department of Defense. Scott obviously would not say this to her. He could clearly see she missed her old position and her team.

During their conversation they would check on the kids. They watched as, sometimes reluctantly, they would work together to get over rougher parts of the trail. It was amazing how quickly time passed when you were constantly moving and talking. It wasn't until Peter and some of the kids stopped and pulled off their packs did they realize they were stopping for lunch.

Once all the kids settled down Peter joined Scott and JJ and the three sat back eating sandwiches and power bars. Peter checked over the map noting that they would be coming to a river crossing soon. He would have the kids find the best way to cross since there was no available bridge. However he was concerned because last week there had been heavy rainfall. He was almost positive that the water levels had gone down since then but he needed to make sure before they moved on. If the water was too dangerous to cross he would have to find a different path.

While the kids continued to rest he asked JJ and Scott to go ahead and check the conditions. They hiked about forty yards away from where everyone was resting down to the river. Peter was right to be concerned; the water levels were still high. Scott suggested they walk a bit further down to see if it was safer to cross. As they walked JJ took in her surroundings. She looked up toward the summit across the river. Somewhere up there was the mountain that graduates of Mt. Horizon would hike to to hoist a personal flag as part of their accomplishment.

"Did you ever do the graduation hike?" JJ asked Scott.

He followed her gaze toward the mountain. "Yeah Jules and I did it together." JJ smiled sadly that she missed out on something so monumental.

"I saw her yesterday she looks good. Sounds like you got closer after I left."

Scott shrugged. "We did. She never really understood me like you did but she was always a good friend. I was surprised she had returned to Mt. Horizon to teach." As he was talking something caught his eye. He squinted trying to see amongst the trees. "Look over there do you see something."

JJ looked in the direction he pointed. At first she did not see anything but as the sun moved from behind a cloud she saw a flash. Something shiny."What is that?"

They both walked in the direction of whatever they had seen. As they got closer JJ could not believe what she was seeing. Scott went to move forward but JJ grabbed his arm pulling him back. "Don't you can't touch anything."

"She… JJ what are your talking about? I need to see if he's okay and even if he isn't we need to see what kind of animal attack this was. It could be dangerous to have the kids out here." Scott said quickly.

"Trust me Scott he is not okay and I doubt this was an animal attack." She let go of his arm and knelt down pulling her gun from her ankle holster. Scott's eyes widened. "Stay here." She told him. She carefully made her way toward the forest ranger's body. She followed a specific path as not to disturb anything.

The shine they had seen was from his silver badge that was attached to his chest. When they came upon the scene JJ did not even consider an animal attack. It was too clean and the body did not look as if it had struggled at all. She knew that whatever had happened to this man could not have happened long ago. Being in the wilderness like this would attract animals and nothing in the area looked disturbed.

When she finally got to the body she noted that his knees were bent awkwardly as if he fell backward from a kneeling position. She knelt next to the body seeing that his attacker had slit his throat.

She stood and walked back to Scott. "I need you to go back to Peter." She told him as she pulled out her cell phone. "Tell him to keep the kids where they are. I'm going to call the police we need a crime scene unit up her."

"Sh.. JJ what are you talking about crime scene it probably just…" She cut him off

"Scott this was not an animal attack. That man was murdered. Trust me. Shit! I have no signal up here. Go back to Peter get a radio and make sure the kids stay away. Have him radio the sheriff and tell them what we have found. " she told him forcefully.

"And leave you here alone while there could be a killer out here somewhere?" He asked her.

"I'll be fine I'm going to check the area but I promise I'll be fine." She pushed him away. "Go! The sooner this gets called in the sooner we can get out of here."

Sherriff Swann was exhausted. He had yet to get any sleep. Dealing with a murder was not something he was accustomed to. Not only was he trying to figure out who could have done this he had been bombarded with calls and questions from residents and press.

A murder in a small town was apparently big news. Most of the residents were understandably freaked out. They wanted to know if they were safe, if their children were safe. The presses had gotten wind of the murder somehow and were bombarding his office with questions. They wanted details of the scene, which he refused to give. They asked if there were any possible suspects, any leads at all. He was frustrated. Not only were all these inquiries taking him away from actually working on the case but somehow the press had gotten the idea that whoever did this could have been one of the students from Mt. Horizon.

The crime scene report had not given him any answers. There were no prints other than the victim's. There was no DNA evidence. The only thing that was noted when the car was processed was the traces of mud in the floor board of the passenger seat. This could mean nothing or it could be important. All Sherriff Swann knew for certain was that it just left him with more questions.

He was taken out of his thoughts when a voice sounded from his portable radio. "Curtis it's Peter, come in?"

"What is it Peter." He responded to his old friend. He knew that Peter had a hike planned for some of his students today and he was hoping he wasn't going to have to waste valuable manpower for a search and rescue.

"Listen Curtis, we're up near Angels Ridge and we've got a bit of a problem up here." There was silence for a moment while Sherriff Swann waited for Peter to explain. "Listen I think you and some of your men need to get up here, and bring some crime scene techs too."

"Crime scene techs? Peter what's going on up there?"

"I don't really know exactly, I sent Scott and JJ ahead to check out the river crossing and Scott came back telling me to contact you. Apparently they found a body of one of the rangers in the woods." Peter hesitantly answered.

"Who's JJ and are they sure crime scene is needed it isn't just an animal attack?"

"Sherriff, this is Scott. We need you to get your men up here. We're certain about this … the ranger's throat was slit." Sherriff Swann barely heard what Scott said next. His mind could hardly process anything after he heard throat was slit. "I'm sure Shelby… um JJ can explain everything when you get here."

There was no instant way for the sheriff and his men to get here and JJ knew this. She searched the surrounding area but found no signs of the person who could have done this. Part of her wanted to expand her search area but after what happened when her and Reid got separated she knew better than to do something like that on her own. Also she knew it was better to stay close to the body making sure no animals or anyone else came across the scene.

She positioned herself with her back to the river knowing that if the killer was still around it would be dangerous and near impossible for them to come up from behind her. As she stood there waiting for Scott of Peter to come back to let her know if they were able to get the sheriff on the radio she couldn't help but think about how ironic this situation was. Being transferred from the BAU was supposed to get her away from situations like this.

"Hey!" Peter called as he came toward her.

She walked toward him. "Did you get the sheriff?"

"Yeah their on their way, but you know it's going to take they at least forty-five minutes for them to get here, even with ATVs"

She nodded. "Yeah I thought about that. You should probably round up the kids and have Scott get them back down the mountain. Keep everyone on campus just in case."

"Do you think whoever did this is still around?" Peter asked.

"Don't know. I don't think they are anywhere near here but it's possible they could still be in town or somewhere here, on the mountain. I don't know if this is a random act or if we could be looking at someone who has killed before. I don't know if we're dealing with someone local or someone who just happens to be here." She stopped and took a deep breath. "I told you I'm not a profiler but I learned a lot while at the BAU. I'm almost positive the unsub is not anywhere near us now."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked her.

"Well first of all this isn't a dump site. This is a murder site, some killers like to stick around and witness the aftermath. The fact that the killer didn't bother to move the body so that it could be easily found tells me they don't care about that. They probably didn't stick around after the attack at all. The surrounding land is barely disturbed which tells me that whoever did this knows the area or is at least familiar with surviving in the outdoors. You know as well as I do it isn't easy to get out here if you've never trained before."

JJ Looked at Peter carefully. "Peter this is why I'm telling you to get the kids back. Do a roster check. Make sure everyone is accounted for."

He suddenly looked very concerned. "Do you think the kids and staff are in danger?"

"Again, I don't know but right now I'm more concerned with how this can be perceived by the public." She sighed. "You and the kids at Mt. Horizon know this terrain better than almost anyone in the area. Think about how it could look a murder in the middle of nowhere on a mountain with a bunch of juvinal delinquints who go to school here."

Peter looked stricken that she would say that. He had to remind himself that her time with the BAU had put her in a position to deal with the media and she knew how something like this could look.

"Alright I'll take your advice but I'm going to have Scott stay here and I'll take the kids back. The kids will take me and Sophie more seriously." Peter agreed

Scott and JJ sat in silence while they waited for the sheriff to arrive. Scott wasn't sure what to think. He was in awe of how JJ handled herself. She didn't even flinch at the sight of a dead body. She took charge. Peter had told him what she said about the kids and the school. It pained him to say it but he realized she was right about how this could look to the public.

Sooner than they thought possible they heard the sound of ATVs coming over the mountain. Scott and JJ both walked to the hill that the sheriff and his men would be coming down to meet them.

Sheriff Swann made his way down the hill seeing Scott and a young woman who looked vaguely familiar. He greeted Scott before introducing himself to the woman.

"Yes, I remember you Sheriff, although I don't expect you to remember me." JJ smiled.

"Curtis this is Agent Jereau, but you might remember her as Shelby Merrick." Scott intervened.

Sheriff Swann was dumbfounded. The young woman in front of him couldn't possibly be the Shelby he remembered.

"The name thing is a bit of a pain I changed my name when my mom got remarried and Shelby is my middle name. Please feel free to call me JJ" She told him.

"I see well it's good to see you again, um JJ, I wish we were not meeting like this. Now I understand who peter and Scott were talking about when they radioed me. You found the victim?" He asked and JJ nodded. "I'm sorry you had to see that I'm sure it was a bit disturbing."

Scott snorted at the Sheriff's statement while JJ responded. "Actually it's nothing I haven't seen before. It looks like you've got a single victim throat slit. I didn't want to disturb the scene so I couldn't tell which direction the cut was made. I can tell you that from the position of the body the victim was kneeling on both knees when he was killed. It doesn't look like there were any signs of struggle so I would say this was a blitz attack. There could have been blunt force trauma which caused him to fall to his knees but I'm almost certain the COD was from the cut."

Sheriff Swann stood with his mouth open in astonishment. "I guess I should tell you the Agent part of Agent Jereau means FBI." Scott said.

"You're an FBI agent?" He asked

JJ nodded. "Officially I'm a communications liaison but I've worked and seen my share of things like this."

"Okay then… And you are certain his throat was slit with no signs of struggle." Sheriff Swann asked hesitantly. He wasn't sure how he was going to handle two murders in less than two days.

"Yes." JJ answered wondering why he would ask a question like that. Just then one of the crime scene techs came over to speak to the sheriff. They walked a short distance off but JJ was able to hear most of their conversation. Things like no obvious evidence yet, and looks like the same type of cut, could be heard. She could see a worried expression on the sheriff's face and suddenly she realized this was worse than she had thought.

She asked Scott to wait there for a moment while she spoke to the sheriff. "Sheriff Swann, I'm sorry but I couldn't help but overhear. Is there another victim?"

Sheriff Swann sighed and his shoulders slumped. "Last night around midnight I found a local kid on the side of the road. Looked like he pulled over to fix a flat tire but never got the chance. His throat was slit just like this guy. The thing is there were no prints, no DNA the only thing we found was some mud in the passenger side of his car."

JJ tensed. She knew that this was most likely the same killer but she still asked. "Was anything else similar?"

The Sheriff thought for a moment and then seemed to speak his thoughts out lout. "He was on his way home from weekend training still in BDUs…looked like he had fallen to his knees that's why I thought he might have been hit on the head but the coroner didn't find anything to suggest head trauma… absolutely nothing to go on."

He continued to mutter things to himself but JJ interrupted him. "Did you say fallen to his knee?"

"Huh? Oh yeah." The sheriff answered distractedly.

"Sheriff I know this is your case but two murders in this short a time that have these types of similarities is not coincidence. I doubt you're going to find much evidence out here especially if you didn't find anything near your other victim's car. Would you mind if I made a few calls chances are this person has killed before I could use my contacts and see if we can find anything that might help." JJ explained.

"Sure make your calls anything that could help would be welcomed right now. I've already been dealing with some panicky residents and the press. Having nothing reassuring to tell them doesn't sit well with me."

JJ smiled at him reassuringly. "In my experience it's better not to tell the media anything until you have information that can be used to benefit your investigation."

"Yeah well Peter isn't going to like this but they've been asking questions about the kids at Mt. Horizon and I hate to say this but I'm going to have to question them." Sheriff Swann explained.

JJ bristled at this. She knew it was likely to happen but she didn't like it. It was things like this that Mt. Horizon was meant to keep them away from. These kids were being given a second chance but the second something bad happens people want to place blame on the easiest targets.

It was early afternoon when JJ and Scott got back to the campus. JJ really just wanted to go to her room and take a shower but first she needed to make a call. She made her way to Peter's office. Peter, Scott, Sophie, Juliet and the rest of the staff had assembled all of the students in the lodge. No one was happy that the kids were being questioned but there wasn't much anyone could do about this. JJ sat down at Peter's desk and pulled out her cell phone. She hit number two on her speed dial and waited to hear one of her favorite voices.

"As your questions, and I shall answer for I am the all knowing."

"Garcia, it's JJ. I need a favor."


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Higher Ground or Criminal minds. **

**Thanks to those the people who have reviewed and put this story on alert. It makes me want to write more and update quicker when I know people are reading. **

**Jhae-ann... thanks for your comment, I am glad you like the way i've tied Shelby to JJ. I've always tried to stay away from xovers because it bothers me when the connections are not realistic. I tried to find the most logical way to make them connect. **

**Twister... no worries, I don't want to ruin this for anyone but, Scott is not the killer. I had a hard enough time with Hayden Christensen being Anakin Skywalker, because it meant he would eventually have to be evil. (that's saying something since I'm a star wars freak who grew up hating Darth Vader)**

**Julia... thanks for the encouragement. hope you like this chapter. **

Chapter 3:

"JJ, my girl! It's so good to hear your voice we really miss you around here." Garcia said after receiving the unexpected call from one of her favorite people.

"I miss you guys too, but you might not be too happy to hear from me after I tell you about the favor I need."

"Oh sweetie, you know there is nothing you could ask that would be too much. I would do just about anything for you. So what's up?" Garcia asked already poised at her keyboard. As much as she loved JJ and the others on the team she knew the phone in her lair rarely rang for a social call.

"Can you check police reports around Seattle for any unsolved murders where the COD was neck wounds?" She asked

"Oh geeze, the way you were talking I thought you had something difficult for me. So I'm looking for any neck wound or something specific and how far around Seattle should this search be?" Garcia asked. She had heard that JJ was supposed to be on vacation and was wondering why she would be calling about information on murder cases. However she kept her questions to herself knowing that JJ would tell her everything if it was necessary.

"Specifically the victims would have their throat slashed. As far as how far start with a forty mile radius if you don't find anything expand from there." Before ending the call JJ gave Garcia the number for the land line at the lodge, cell phone service could be sketchy up there.

JJ sunk back into the chair and rubbed her hands over her eyes. She knew she had no authority to have any say in this case. She also knew that the Bakerville police department consisted of the sheriff, and two deputies. Hell, the station shared a building with the post office and had one office, a small bullpen and one holding cell. They were simply not equipped to handle something like this. Realistically the state police could take over the investigation but that was unlikely to happen. No, the most help from the state police, Sheriff Swann could expect was the aid of the crime scene techs.

JJ may not have been a profiler but she had enough experience to know what was going on around here. She had been with the BAU long enough that Hotch had even asked if she wanted to take the classes to qualify her as a profiler. There was no doubt in her mind they were looking at a spree killer. She did not know time of death for the first victim but if the body was found around midnight and she found the second body less than twelve hours later there was no cooling off period. When she asked the sheriff if he minded her making some calls she failed to mention that she was hoping to find enough information to justify bringing in the BAU. Right now she did not believe that two murders would be enough to bring in the FBI.

After all the stuff that Strauss had been pulling lately she knew she would need more to justify bringing the BAU out here. When she was still a member of team she would have had a better chance of pulling strings but now she just didn't see another way. For some reason Strauss has it out for Hotch and by extension the BAU. JJ knew, as much as the thought sickened her, the only chance of getting her old team out here was more victims.

She did not know enough at this time to know if this unsub had a comfort zone. _Then again_ she thought_ if he's on a spree a comfort zone will not matter anymore. _She really didn't want to be the one to tell the sheriff that if the unsub wasn't caught soon he was most assuredly going to have another body on his hands. She also did not want to admit that, from the little amount of evidence there was, the sheriff was doing the most logical thing by interviewing the students.

Until Garcia call her back with any information there was not much she could do. She decided to head out to the great room and check on things there. She was not surprised to see the disgruntled and defiant looks on the faces of all the students. Peter looked absolutely drained and she knew that it was killing him that his kids were the first ones to be suspected.

JJ walked over to where the he was sitting with the teachers and counselors. "Hey, how you holding up?"

Peter looked at her. "I'm fine this is just ridiculous though." He waved his hand toward the room the sheriff was using to interview the kids.

JJ nodded, "It is but I knew it would happen. I don't know if Sheriff Swann told you but he's already getting calls about the school. You may want to have someone near the phone. Make sure they give no comment that can be used negatively." She looked at the other staff members. "Juliet, I need you to do something for me."

Juliet sat down next to JJ wondering what she could possibly need. She listened while JJ told her to keep close to the phone because there was a possibility the press would be calling for comments. JJ explained to her that it was important to give no comment about the school or anything that she had heard about the case. "Simply telling them that you are certain the sheriff will keep the public informed, is more than enough. The thing is making any comment other than this tells the media that you or others from the school have spoken to the police, that can be twisted. I've also told the sheriff that I would help with dealing with the media if he would like me to. Hopefully we can keep them out of the way for a while."

"No problem," Juliet responded before turning to Scott. "If I'm on phone duty do you mind keeping an eye on my Cliffhangers?"

"I'll take care of them Jules." Scott agreed.

JJ felt better now that she knew the media couldn't drag the school any further into this mess. Peter had already canceled any outdoor activities that took students and staff off campus. There was no sexual assault in either attack and both victims were male. Other than what she had seen with her own eyes and what the sheriff had told her earlier in the day she didn't have enough information to make any assumptions about this unsub. She was just wishing that Garcia would hurry up and get back to her when her cell phone rang.

Garcia was surprised to hear from JJ. It was almost four o'clock in the afternoon and things around the BAU in Quantico, Virginia had been oddly tame for a change. To be honest no one at the Behavioral Analysis Unit was bothered by the easy day that had been granted. The team had just returned from three days in Georgia where they had been called to help stop a serial rapist.

When JJ had requested information on murders in the Seattle area, Garcia wanted to ask a million questions. It had been a few weeks since the two had spoken but she knew that JJ was planning on taking a vacation. At the time JJ did not tell her where she would be going and Garcia had never bothered to ask. Now she knew that wherever JJ was it was somewhere near Seattle and obviously something was going on out there that had JJ concerned.

There had been a few times in the past members of the team would ask Garcia to check out old cases or things like that but ever since she was targeted for looking into open cases everyone had been more careful. Because of this she knew that whatever the reason for JJ's call it was important. She really didn't have a lot of information to go on but that had never stopped her before.

She began her search with a forty mile radius around Seattle, Washington, open murder cases where the victims had been killed by neck injuries. She then narrowed down her search specifically to knife wounds. No matter how long Garcia did this job it never failed to sicken her just how many evils there were in the world. In the last six months alone there had been at least twenty cases that fit the parameters.

She knew JJ was waiting for her to call but Garcia knew it would be better if she could narrow down the possibilities a little more. She entered in different age ranges and male and female categories hoping to separate the cases looking for similarities.

"Hey babygirl. I'm heading out Prentiss and I were thinking about getting a drink did you want to join us?" Garcia smiled at that deep voice.

"Oh you know I would love something tall dark and smooth." She answered with a smile in her voice. "But I need to finish this up first."

Agent Derrick Morgan was confused they didn't have any new cases come in today and he had not heard of anything Penelope should be working on. He walked over and took a seat next to her. "What are you working on, did we have something new come in?"

"No darling'… just doing a friend a favor." She answerd.

Morgan looked over the information on the screens in front of him. "Garci, you're not keeping tabs on these cases are you?" he asked carefully.

"What?" she asked absently while she waited for the search to finish. "Oh no…. um it's just that… well JJ called earlier. She's the one who asked me to look in to these cases."

"JJ?" Morgan was surprised but also concerned. When JJ was transferred it should have kept her away from these kinds of cases. "Okay well what are we looking at?" JJ may not have been a member of their team anymore but she was family if there was something she that was important enough to check out then he was not about to walk away.

Garcia told him about the phone call and the information JJ had given her. She showed him what the search results were and explained how she was trying to narrow it down.

"Alright so we have twenty cases that fit. Thirteen male, seven female victims. Did she give you any other information?" Morgan asked

"No that's why I wanted to separated the cases out based on age and gender I thought it would be easier to find any patterns that way." Garcia was good at her job but she hated when there was so little information. "I could call her and let her know what we've got but I thought it might be better to narrow it down first."

Morgan nodded and pulled the case files off the printer. For the next ten minutes he and Garcia looked through the case files for any pattern they could find. Two of the female victims were rape or sexual assault victims but there was nothing in the case files that made it seem as if it was the same attacker. Seven of the cases looked like home invasion or possible mugging victims. There were clear defensive wounds on the victims as well as stolen property. One of the cases looked like a hitchhiker turned carjacking. Two cases looked like they could have been domestic violence but there hadn't been enough evidence to make any arrests.

"Okay so we have eight cases, all male victims. The ages are across the board. No signs of struggle in any instance. The victim was found in the parking lot where he worked. Robert Black, age 41, father of two. He was a night security guard for a shipping company." Morgan read off the information.

"I've got 30 year old Michael Ward, not married no children. His body was found outside a local diner. Says here it was routine for him to get breakfast at the diner after leaving work. Apparently one of the waitresses found him when she went outside on a break not thirty minutes after he paid for his meal." Garcia continued looking through the file while Morgan continued on to the next.

It was quiet in the room for a moment before Morgan saw the pattern they had been looking for. "You said that Michael Ward ate at the diner after work what did he do for a living?"

"He was a um… Firefighter… why."

"Get JJ on the line, she needs to hear this."

JJ pulled out her cell and moved away from the group giving a small reassuring smile to Peter and Scott as she walked away. "Garcia, did you find anything?"

"Well I'm not Garcia, but the answer is yes." Morgan chuckled.

"Derrick?" JJ was surprised she hadn't expected Garcia to tell anyone about this yet but this could always turn out to be a good thing.

"How ya doin' JJ"

"I'm good considering… Hey not to be abrupt but you said you did find something?" JJ responded.

"We did but I think you need to tell us what exactly is going on first." Morgan said and waited for an explanation.

JJ really didn't want to get into her past on the phone so she gave them only information that they would need. She explained that she was in the mountains in Washington with some old friends and what they had found while hiking. She told them how the sheriff had found a body in the same condition the night before and how she believed that the two were most likely connected. In fact she told them all of her thoughts about it being a possible spree killer who is either local or who had at some point spent time hiking and camping in this area.

Morgan was impressed. JJ had put enough together to realize they were dealing with a dangerous unsub. He informed her of the eight cases that Garcia was able to find. He told her that initially it didn't look as if any of the cases were connected but as they read through the files he found a connection. "JJ was the two men who were killed in uniform?"

She thought for a moment and remembered hearing the sheriff mention something about Jack Dawson being in his BDUs. "Yeah a forest ranger and some kid in the army reserves."

"JJ do you think you can get the sheriff out there to invite us in? You have a serial killer on your hands and from what you said it looks like he's abandoned his cooling off period, this could get bad." Morgan told her.

"If you think Hotch and the others will come just get out here I'll handle the sheriff. It's important to me to get this unsub and soon. Tell Hotch not to worry about anything I'll have everything from a control room to lodging taken care of when you get here." She gave him the address and made her way over to speak to Sherriff Sawnn.

Morgan and Garcia looked at one another; neither knew what to make of the mixture of urgency and relief they heard in JJ's voice. They had seen her passionate about cases before but this was something different. The only time they could remember her being this worked up over a case was the rash of teen suicides that turned out to be an internet game gone wrong. They never did get the full story from her about that, but it didn't take a genius to know it affected her personally.

"I don't know about you but I have a feeling we're going to learn some things about our darling JJ that none of us ever thought about. " Garcia said as she gathered up the case files.

Morgan nodded "I think you're right babygirl. I'm going to call Hotch. Think you can get everything ready for a briefing based on what we have?"

"I know it's not much but I know you guys will be able to work with it and JJ can add any other information later." They went their separate ways each of them anxious to get moving.

Twenty minutes later Agents Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Derrick Morgan and Dr. Spencer Reid were gathered in the briefing room. No one besides Garcia and Morgan knew why they had all been called back in this evening. The only thing they had been told was that a case had been brought to Garcia's attention and she would explain once everyone was gathered.

"Thank you all for getting here quickly. I know we all thought you would be getting some rest especially after a quiet day today. However, after a phone call this afternoon I believe this case requires our immediate attention." They were all surprised to see how serious and professional Garcia was being. Ever since she had taken on this part of JJ's old position she had tried to keep things light as was her personality.

Garcia pulled up the crime scene photos from the eight cases she and Morgan found. As she went through each case file she could see understanding dawn upon the team. They had obviously noticed the same connection Morgan had found.

"All of these murders have happened in the last six months?" Hotch asked for clarification.

"Yes sir," Garcia responded. "There was over a month long period between the first and second murders. As well as the second and third. After that you can see that the cooling off period shortened. The last case was around one week ago in a town about an hour outside of Seattle."

"So we're looking at a serial killer who is possibly about to start a spree and they waited a week to contact us?" Rossi asked.

"Actually, as you can see none of these victims are in the same area the unsub is clearly on the move with no clear comfort zone. I do not think any of the law enforcement agencies have connected the murders." Morgan answered.

Emily could see why the BAU needed to take this case but if there hadn't been a connection made how had Garcia been notified. "Okay so where did this case come to us from?"

"This afternoon JJ called Garcia, asking her to do a little digging." Morgan said before looking around the room and then nodding to Garcia who put the latest crime scene photos on the screen. "We don't have a possibility of a spree killer we have a spree killer."

"JJ was able to send me these files just before you arrived." She explained the details of the latest murders and JJ's involvement in finding the second body.

Prentiss shook her head. "So basically JJ goes on vacation almost literally stumbles across a dead body and immediately thinks serial killer?"

"Well to be honest it is highly unlikely that a connection between these murders would have ever been made. Since they are all in different jurisdictions and the ages of the victims varies so much statistically there would have been very little chance of seeing the pattern. If JJ had not put the possibility of more victims out there we may never have heard about this case." Reid explained

Before Reid could continue on his overly intelligent rant Rossi interrupted. "And it's a good thing we did if this unsub is on a spree things could get bad and fast."

"Dave's right, did she get us invited in?" Hotch asked.

"Yes sir, She said everything will be ready for you when you arrive. I've already programmed in the location to your GPS."

"Alright wheels up in thirty. Oh and Garcia, see if you can get JJ on video conference while we're in the air the more we know the better."

JJ was sitting in the classroom that peter had told her to use for the BAU team. When she informed Sheriff Swann that her contacts at the BAU had found five other murders that could be connected to the latest two he looked as if he wanted to fall over. She quickly explained that this meant she had enough reason to ask the BAU to help with the investigation. From the look on the sheriff's face you would have thought she had just told him he had won a million dollars and a private island.

She explained that the BAU team could not come unless they were invited by the local authorities. She told him that she was not trying to interfere but she believed it would be the best idea especially because he truly did not have the manpower to deal with this. She also told him her assumption that they could expect more victims soon if they were right and they were now dealing with a spree killer.

Sheriff Swann honestly did not need convincing. This was a small town and it was difficult to keep things quiet. News of the second body had already spread. He knew things would get worse before they got better and he would take any help he could get.

The fact that there truly was not enough room to set up a briefing area at the station left JJ with only one option. The team would have to set up at the school. It was far from an ideal situation but it would have to do. She was not looking forward to having her past and present come together but not only were lives at stake so was the school.

Just as she had thought the media had latched onto the idea of one of the students being behind the murders. The phone had been ringing nonstop for over an hour. Surprisingly Juliet was handling the calls well. Peter had been grateful when she informed him that the team would be coming in to help. He told her that anything she needed he would be more than happy to help with. Other than having the sheriff get her the files and needing internet access there wasn't much that she required. The school was internet ready but there were no computers at the school. Keeping the students away from the internet kept them from possibly contacting people who had enabled them in their addictions and habits. Now she had her laptop set up at the desk in the class room.

She was sitting at the desk looking over the reports Garcia had sent her as well as the case files the sheriff had given her. Sheriff Swann had left to speak with the head of the county's forestry department. They had decided that it would be best if all the rangers were notified of the possible danger. They were also ordered to check in hourly. JJ had been hesitant to allow this at first because they did not have a working profile and she did not want to start unnecessary panic but eventually she agreed that it was best they were informed at least vaguely. They could not bring the rangers in from their posts and to leave them completely ignorant would only leave them open to danger.

"Hey." Scott called as he entered the classroom

JJ leaned back and rubbed her eyes. "Hi, how are things out there?"

"Getting better the kids are still pissed off that they were questioned but they'll get over it." She nodded in understanding. Actually she was happy that the sheriff had spoken to all the kids and staff it would mean less work for the team when they arrived. Ruling out any of the kids would mean they could focus on real possibilities. "How about you? You look pretty stressed out right now."

"I'm okay, I don't like that the kids had to go through that but it needed to be done. Now if we could just get the press to get off the school's back it would be even better." JJ explained.

Scott looked at her critically. "Mmhm, Look I know a lot has changed over the years but I used to know you pretty well, I could tell when you were keeping things bottled up so why don't you just tell me what you're thinking about."

JJ sighed he was right. Until Scott came along she never had a problem shutting people out but the closer they got the hard it was for her to keep up her walls. "There's a good chance we're going to have to look in to the records of past students, you know that right?" she answered in hopes of avoiding the real problem.

"Well I didn't know that but I guess I understand. I don't know everything that's going on with this but I have ears and from the few times I've heard the sheriff talking I can tell there isn't a lot for you all to go on I'm sure it's important to look at every possibility." Scott answered calmly knowing she was avoiding.

JJ watched him as he sat casually on the top of a desk. Patience was never one of Scott's strong points so seeing him calmly waiting for her to break down and tell him what had her worried was not something she expected. A few moments past and JJ realized that he liked it better when he pushed her for information this silence was too disturbing. "They don't know." She mumbled.

Scott nodded he had suspected as much. "So tell them." She looked at him appalled. "Look, you don't have to tell them everything if you don't want to but they are coming here. You have to tell them something so tell them the truth. We all have our demons Shel, but that is nothing to be ashamed of. You survived terrible things, and you overcame the things you had been through to become a successful, strong, beautiful person." He stopped and pushed some hair behind her ear just like he used to when they were kids. "If they care about you the way I think they do they will understand. That is just what you do when you love someone."

He was looking at her with such a tender expression she felt like she was a teenager all over again. They sat there looking at each other in silence neither of them wanting to break the odd but familiar connection between them. Sadly their moment was broken when the JJ's phone rang loudly in the quiet room.

She looked at Scott apologetically before flipping open her phone. "Agent Jereau."

Garcia waited for JJ to pick up the call hoping that wherever she was she would be able to set up a video conference. "Agent Jereau."

"Hey girl it's me. The team is in the air. Hotch wants you in a video conference, can we set that up?"

JJ sighed she knew she would need to be on this conference but she was wondering if she should explain things now or when the team was there in person. No, focusing on the case was more important right now all they needed to know is the school was run by friends and she was helping out. Was she avoiding telling them the truth, yes. But, she knew it would be better to wait until it was absolutely necessary to tell them. Getting the team up to speed and finding this unsub was the priority.

"Yeah Garcia go ahead I'm online now."

Garcia's voice came over the through the speakers notifying the team that she and JJ were up and running for video conference. The next thing they saw was a split screen with both JJ and Garcia's faces.

"JJ good to see you." Hotch greeted her. The others on the team all said their hellos "So Garcia and Morgan have filled us in on how you put all this together, good work by the way. Before we start how are you this couldn't have been the vacation you had in mind?"

Normally Hotch would refrain from asking a personal question like this but he could tell JJ looked tired. Something about this case was taking its toll on her.

"I'm good, just glad you guys can help. We're going to have a bit of an unusual set up out here. When I say Bakerville is a small town I'm not kidding. As far as I know nothing like this has ever happened out here. I'm not sure they've ever dealt anything more serious than shoplifting. Which is impressive considering…" she trailed off.

"Okay so what can we expect?" Rossi asked.

"The police station isn't much more than two rooms so I've got us set up at Mt. Horizon High School. Which is actually the reason I'm here. It is run by a friend of mine. I have a briefing room and everything we need ready to go. I'll explain more when you get here." She said

"Alright, have you had a chance to look over the case files Morgan and Garcia found?" Hotch asked.

"I have."

Reid took over. "I think we're dealing with a hedonistic , thrill killer, or possibly power control killer. Obviously there is no sign of sexual assault. These attacks are purely about the kill."

"What do we know about victimology?" Prentiss asked.

"I have Sheriff Swann contacting the families of the latest victims. It will be almost midnight by the time you get in so we're setting up meeting with the families first thing in the morning." JJ answered.

"Good if Reid, Rossi, you two handles those interviews. Morgan, Prentiss I want you two to check into the crime scenes. I'll contact the Seattle PD and let them know why we're here and see if we can possibly get any more information on the first victim. Although I'm not sure we will even need that. If the unsub is breaking we'll have more than enough information soon." Hotch ordered.

"As far as what we know so far. It isn't much." Rossi said as he flipped through some of the files. "The ages vary there seems to be no preference, also the unsub does not discriminate race. Each victim was of middle or upper middle class status."

"Each attack occurs in a place that is in the open or, roadsides, parking lots, Alleyways and so on. So we can assume these are not planned attacks. Also the unsub does not abduct his victims he does not move them to a dumpsite he does not prolong the attack. This is all about the kill for him… it almost seems like it's an impulse." Reid said

"What we do know is that his first victim was six months ago." Hotch said. "Garcia did you check further back to see if any other murders match these?"

"Yes, and no there have been no other attacks or murders that involve knife wounds to the throat, neck injuries, or men in some type of uniform past the first killing."

"So we can assume whatever caused him to start killing happened around six months ago." Rossi said "What was his stressor and why is he picking men in uniforms as victims?"

Emily was about to ask a question but another voice had entered the conversation. "Shelby, I'm sorry to bother you but I need your help…" The team looked up upon hearing the quiet female voice. They saw JJ nod and hold up one finger.

She turned back to the screen. "Sorry about that like I said small town, the media has already gotten wind of the story and they smell a story it's been crazy." She noticed the odd looks everyone was giving her. "What?"

Morgan was the one to respond. "Shelby?" he raised his eyebrows.

JJ sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I'll explain later. So where were we?"

"It's fine JJ go take care of things there. We have a good start here we'll be able to do more when we get there. See you in a few hours." Hotch told her and the conference link was ended.

The plane was quiet for a moment before Emily finally spoke. "Does anyone think we're missing something here?"

"Yeah, like why JJ is answering to Shelby." Morgan said.

"Or why only after a few hours the media is in a frenzy? JJ said it was small town gossip but it is not a high profile case. The first of the two victims was found less than twenty four hours ago so I can't see them pushing the police for an arrest. And… JJ said she has us set up at a school, how would the media know to contact the school and not the local police?" Reid inquired.

The others shook their heads in confusion. "We'll worry about all of this later, let's deal with the case right now…" Rossi said as he pulled out as he looked over the notes he had been making.

After JJ was logged off the video conference she made her way out to the great room to find Juliet. She had no idea what could be wrong or why Juliet thought it was necessary to intrude. She finally found her with Peter, Sophie, and Scott all standing at the entrance to the lodge. As she made her way over to the group she saw that they were talking to a gentleman in a suit and tie. JJ sighed knowing that the members of the press had gotten tired of having their calls rebuffed and now were trying to get answers in person.

"I'm sorry sir but as I have told you unless you are a staff member, student, or family member we need you to leave the school premises." She heard Peter say.

"So you would not like to comment on the rumor that a number of your students were present when the second body was found? Is that because you are concerned that the parents' of your students would find it upsetting that you would allow their children to witness such a thing? Or, are you concerned that one of your students could be involved in these two murders and you know that such an event would likely be the end of your school?" The reporter asked.

When JJ heard the questions this reporter was asking she was livid. Often times the media would be cooperative but then there were times that they were like a dog with a bone. She reigned in her emotions and stepped up to the door.

JJ held out her hand to the reporter. "Hi, Jennifer Jereau. Is there something I can help you with..." she trailed off waiting for a name.

"Ben Ellington, Olympic Review. We've been calling to see if a representative from the school would like to comment on the recent murders in the area and the belief that a student from the school could be responsible?"

JJ nodded, unsurprised. "I see and I assume the possibility of a student's involvement was told to you by someone from the local authorities?"

The reporter shifted uncomfortably "Well um not…"

"I only ask because if your publication had indeed previously contacted the school you would then know that we know nothing more than anyone else in town. This school is a part of this community and we are as concerned as anyone else. That being said there is nothing more we can tell you. I would suggest that you direct your questions to the sheriffs's office. Thank you." Her voice was polite and authoritative. JJ gave the reporter a smile before turning to go back inside and closing the door effectively dismissing the man.

She probably should not have said anything to the reporter at all but it was so hard to keep quiet when the school's reputation was in question. She hated that the media had latched onto the story before the BAU had arrived. She was reminded of a case where young African American girls were being murdered. A local preacher had publically stated that he believed the crimes to be hate crimes in a predominantly white community. It made everything harder because of the accusations that were being tossed around.

Hotch would probably not be happy that she had spoken to a member of the press but she could not stand by and do nothing. She had tried staying away from things when she asked Juliet to deal with calls and the like. Actually she didn't know in what capacity she would be helping the team anyway. They may already have a new protocol for their media liaison.

"Thanks for your help." Juliet said as she came up next to her. "That guy just would not leave. I'm sorry for interrupting before. We just didn't know what else to do."

JJ smiled at her. "It's fine I heard what Peter said and as long as you stuck to what I told you to say no harm was done." She turned around to speak to Peter. "Just so you know I don't think any of the students are in any danger so if you want to send them back to their bunks for lights out it should be fine."

"Good I was thinking of having them camp out in the lodge just to keep an eye on everyone but instead I'll have a teacher stay in each bunk. I'll feel better that way and it will lessen the idea that someone could be sneaking away at night." Peter told her.

"Good idea. Listen I'm going grab my computer and files, lock up the classroom and head back to my room. I doubt I'll sleep but I should try the team is going to be here around midnight and if I know them they'll want to get started as soon as possible." JJ walked away while Peter and the staff gathered all of the students. She knew that she had ignored Scott but after the moment that had passed between them earlier she was not sure how to act. Her head was telling her to focus on the case, to do her job, and not get sidetracked. Her heart was a different story. He had been tender and sweet and it had been so long since she had felt so connected to another person.

This was the first time in years that she had seen or spoken to Scott. So much had changed. She was no longer the damaged girl she had been. He was no longer the tormented boy. Back then they had bonded over their shared secrets. They had learned to trust again together. They had regained faith in people because of their faith in one another. Now, she was not sure what they were supposed to share. There were no more secrets or pain to bond them.

JJ's mind was spinning circles as she walked back toward the guest lodge. She had to admit that she enjoyed talking to Scott while they were hiking. He had turned into an amazing man. Once they had gotten past the awkwardness of seeing one another again it had been easy. He made her smile and laugh just like he had done when they were kids.

As she came up the path leading to the porch of the guest lodge she saw a figure leaning against the wall. Her first instinct was to reach for her gun until he pushed off the wall and walked toward her.

Scott smiled sheepishly. "Hi."

"Hey. Shouldn't you be taking care of the kids at one of the bunks?"

"No" He shook his head. "Peter, Sophie and I will all be staying in the lodge tonight; everyone else has been assigned to a student bunk." He leaned his hip against the railing. "I know you're probably beat but I just wanted to say goodnight."

JJ smiled at him and shrugged. "I am tired but honestly the team will be here in a few hours even if I do get any sleep, which I doubt, it won't be much."

"Did you tell them?" he asked not needing to elaborate. Scott knew telling her friends about her past would not be easy and he wanted to make sure she was alright.

"Not yet." JJ shook her head. "The case needs to be the priority. I will tell them but only when it's absolutely necessary."

"She…JJ" He started.

"Scott I told you, you can call me Shelby."

"I know but this is who you are now. I know Shelby, but I want to know JJ. It's just going to take some getting used to that's all." He put a hand on her shoulder "And that's kind of my point. I want to know all of you the past, present, and… hopefully the future" He said the last part quietly. "These people, they've known you for a while and if you're right and they look into old school records they will find out. Don't you think it would be better coming directly from you?"

She knew he was right. The team had not judged Morgan when they found out about his past. She knew they would give her the same respect. "I know Scott. I just hate remembering anything about who I used to be."

A flash of pain crossed his face and he removed his hand. "I don't remember there being anything wrong with that girl. She was a fighter who was strong enough to survive unspeakable things."

His tone of voice was sharp and JJ realized that what she said could have been taken the wrong way. She did not want him to think that she did not remember him and the others from Mt. Horizon fondly. This school and Scott had saved her, but she could not think of how to explain what she was feeling.

"I know the things that happened to us; all of us, our old friends, Peter, the kids here now, were awful. But, without those things we wouldn't be who we are now. We would never have found Mt. Horizon. We would never have found each other. I can despise everything I went through. I can hate that you had to live through such horrid things but I can never regret something that brought me here. I found friendship and family here. This is the place where I learned what love is." With that said he stood. "Get some rest… JJ. I'll see you in the morning."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: sorry that took a bit longer than i had hoped. I want to make this as accurate as possible according to the details of the case and i needed to put a lot of thought into everything. **

**Thanks for the reviews please continue to let me know what you think. I always look forward to what you have to say. **

**It will be a few days before my next update as I want to try to get my next chapter of my Harry Potter fic out before the movie on Friday, which I cannot wait to see. I really hope they do it justice cause the book was amazing. **

**Disclaimer I do not own Criminal Minds or Higher Ground I'm just having some fun with the concepts and characters. Happy reading. **

Chapter 4:

JJ was awoken by the ringing of her phone just after midnight. "Hello?" she asked not awake enough to properly answer the call.

"JJ, it's Hotch. We're about ten minutes out. According to the GPS the only lodging in the area is a resort on the opposite side of town, we are going to check in there for the night and meet up with you in the morning."

JJ sat up in bed. "That's not necessary. Didn't Garcia tell you? When I said I had everything taken care of I meant everything. Come straight to the school. I'll meet you at the main lodge and get you all settled in and then we can get started."

They ended their call and JJ got out of bed stretching the sleep from her limbs. She had only been asleep a little over an hour and her body craved more rest. It would have been a tiring day from the hike alone but with the unexpected turn of events she realized she was both physically and mentally drained. Not caring about professionalism she simply grabbed a sweatshirt from her closet. Throwing the sweatshirt on with the tank top and flannel pajama pants she had been sleeping in she grabbed a flashlight and her gun before locking her door and walking out into the night to meet the team.

It was cool and breezy out. There was a bite in the air but the school campus was quiet and calm. Taking a deep breath of the clean fresh air JJ made her way toward the main lodge. She was tired and stressed but knew it was important to get her mind focused. She knew the team was able to get a basic idea of what was happening from the initial connections between the cases but there was still a lot that was unknown. If this unsub was truly going on a spree they needed to move as quickly as possible.

When she reached the main lodge she opted to sit on the steps to wait for the team instead of going inside. It was cold yes but she knew that Peter, Sophie, and Scott were all sleeping in the lodge for the night. Even though none of them wanted to admit or show how concerned they were about these murders she knew they would be anxious tonight. The last thing she wanted to do right now was wake them unnecessarily.

One would think that she would be more on edge sitting outside in the dark with what was going on in the area. JJ however was quite relaxed. She would have liked to say that it was simply because she was tired but she knew that it was because the area in which she was sitting. It did not matter that she was helping to investigate a series of murders; two in the surrounding area, Mt. Horizon was the first place she truly felt safe and protected and that had not changed. There was a comfort about the surrounding mountains and she knew she would do everything she could to make sure the school could continue to give its' students that same feeling and second chance.

Light could be seen coming around the curve moments before the black SUV pulled up to the front of the main lodge. JJ had not expected to feel such a weight lifted off her shoulders at the appearance of her old team. A smile broke across her face as she stood to greet her friends.

She had to stifle a laugh as she watched the four doors open simultaneously and each agent step out of the vehicle. Had they always looked so practiced in their movements? Is that what they had always looked like to the people who had called for help? Shaking her head she walked over to the team.

"Well don't we look all relaxed and comfy?" Morgan laughed.

"Shut up!" JJ smiled. "If it wasn't so good to see all of you I'd smack you upside the head."

Reid stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. "We're happy to see you too." The others all agreed with the sentiment.

JJ stepped back and took a deep breath. "Ok well let's get your things up to the guest lodge and then we can get started."

"Actually JJ, we talked about this on the flight. This isn't going to be an easy case. We just don't have enough to go on yet. We have a basic working profile but we need more to go on. Honestly until we see the crime scenes and talk to the victims' families we are at a standstill. That being said I think it's best if we all get some rest for the next few hours and start fresh in the morning." Hotch explained.

JJ's shoulders slumped a bit but knew Hotch was right. "Alright well just so you know this," She pointed toward the building behind her. "is the main lodge. It holds the common lounge where the kids can hang out, the administrative offices, classrooms, and cafeteria, which opens at seven am. Believe it or not the food is actually really good."

They started walking up the path toward the guest lodge when Rossi spoke up. "And you said we would be using one of the classrooms here for our base of operations?"

"Yes, everything is set up for us. The sheriff has provided me with any files we may need and has also been working here with me." She pointed her flashlight to the left and then the right. "The girls' cabins and boys' cabins are located on opposite sides of the main lodge. For the time being Peter has assigned counselors or teachers to bunk with the students. The guest lodge has around twenty-five rooms. We are all staying in the same block. Sophie made sure the students prepared your rooms. Fresh linins and bedding has been taken care of so you should be all set."

Emily turned toward JJ. "The students prepared the rooms? Why? I mean I thought this was a type of boarding school, shouldn't there be staff to do that?"

"Boarding school?" Morgan said. "from the little I can see it looks more like a summer camp."

JJ could not help but laugh. "It's so much more than either of those things." She said quietly before adding more loudly. "That is the way things are done here. The students are the staff in a way. The school has counsoulers, licensed teachers, and a doctor on staff. Other than those positions the students do everything else. Things are done this way as a teaching tool and also discipline."

"Okay explain to us how that works." Emily said as they walked through the doors of the guest lodge.

"It's simple really. The students are divided into groups of about eight. Each group is assigned certain duties each week. It teaches them responsibility, teamwork, and a sense of accomplishment. As for discipline, if it were you, what would get the point across more detention or cleaning a bathroom everyday for a week by yourself when that task would normally be shared between multiple people?"

"Point taken." Emily replied. They had just come to a stop in the hallway. JJ then pointed out each room. Before everyone disappeared behind their doors Hotch made sure to tell them all to be up and ready to start their day by seven.

When morning finally came JJ was surprised that she had slept quite well. After showering and drying her hair she looked to her closet. At least last night she had a good excuse for her attire. Today as she looked at her wardrobe she realized the team would be seeing her as they had never truly seen her before. When packing for this trip she had obviously not expected to be working. Her entire vacation wardrobe consisted of jeans, t-shirts, and sweatshirts. _Well not much I can do about looking more professional now._ With that thought she pulled on a pair of jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt before sitting on her bed and pulling on a pair of hiking boots.

It was just before seven o'clock when she pulled the door to her room shut behind her. Walking into the hall she was greeted by Emily and Spencer. They exchanged good mornings and waited for the others to join them. It was a matter of seconds before the rest of the team joined them.

Stepping outside JJ took a deep breath of the cool fresh air. It was a brisk day and she could feel the moisture in the air. There was a good chance of rain, meaning getting to the crime scenes quickly would be very important. She watched the team take in their surrounding now that they were able to truly see the campus in the light of day.

"It really is beautiful up here." Emily said and JJ simply smiled in response.

When they walked into the main lodge it was quiet. Most of the students had yet to wake up and those who had were already working as they were assigned kitchen duty. JJ led the team into the cafeteria where everyone immediately looked for coffee. JJ made herself a plate of bacon and eggs before getting a cup of coffee for herself. Once everyone was seated with some form of breakfast food in front of them Hotch spoke.

"I'm going to speak with the sheriff as well as call the detectives involved with the other cases. Reid, since one of our biggest obstacles is the lack of a clear comfort zone I want you working on finding something that will allow us to narrow down possibilities. The other problem that we have is victimology."

Reid interrupted. "There is no clear connection between victims other than they were all in some type of uniform when they were attacked and their gender. The ages, socio economic background, and ethnicities very."

"Exactly," Hotch nodded. "this leaves too many holes for us to be able to pin down a profile. I want Prentiss and JJ to speak to the victims' families. JJ you are okay with actively working this case correct?" JJ nodded. "Good we need as much information on the victims as possible."

"Since each of the victims are male could we be looking at a female unsub?" Emily asked.

Rossi shook his head. "It is possible but I highly doubt it. As we all know female serial killers are rare especially when we are looking at a single unsub. I think we are certain this is not the work of a team and do to the type of attack and lack of struggle it is clear that the unsub has no problem subduing their victim. While not impossible for a female it is more likely we are looking for a male unsub."

"That being said we are working under the assumption that the unsub is finding his victims at random. We need to talk to these families to be sure that there was no prior contact by the unsub." Hotch explained. "Dave, Morgan I want you checking out the crime scenes."

JJ took the opportunity to speak up. "The second scene, as you know is not easily accessible. The sheriff has already offered us use of the ATVs but even with those it will still take at almost an hour to reach the area."

"That's fine" Hotch replied. "Now if we are all finished here, JJ why don't you show us where we'll be working we need to get started.

Everyone rose from their seats and followed JJ to the classroom that had been provided for their use. The day before JJ had already set up a victim board as well as posting a map of the area. The room was quiet while the team each broke off preparing for their separate tasks. Reid had already begun working on a geographical profile. The map was decorated with red pins depicting the locations of each murder. Blue pins were also placed on the map showing the address for each victim.

Emily was on the phone placing calls to the Dawson and Redman families, trying to set up interview times. It was best to meet with the families in the victim's home. Finding insight into the victim and their life was easier to do when surrounded by their personal belongings.

JJ looked around the room knowing that before everyone got too deep into their tasks she would need to explain her connection to Mt. Horizon. Before she could ask Hotch for some time to speak to everyone the door to the classroom opened. Sheriff Swann, Peter and Scott all walked in. JJ stood to introduce them to the team. As everyone was shaking hands she saw Scott trying to catch her eye. She subtly shook her head. Telling the team about her past was going to be difficult enough without beginning up the discussion the two had the previous night. She knew that they would need to talk at some point but now was not that time. She gave him a small smile to let him know everything was okay before he left the room.

Sheriff Swann excused himself to make sure everything was ready to take the agents to the two crime scenes. Peter spoke quietly to Hotch letting him know that he was happy to help in any way and also suggest that either a counselor or himself should accompany Morgan to the second crime scene. JJ thought this was a good idea seeing as they knew the area better than most others in town. Once Peter finished his conversation he told the agents he would be in his office if he was needed and left the room.

Taking a deep breath JJ made her way to where Hotch was standing. "Hotch before we all separate I was wondering if I could have a bit of time to speak to the team. There are some things you all should know."

Hotch looked at her quizzically but nodded his acceptance. Everyone sat around one of the tables in the room as JJ dialed up Garcia. Once Garcia answered JJ put her on speaker and steeled herself to tell these people, her colleagues, friends, her family, the things about her life she had wished never happened.

JJ sat down on top of the desk at the front of the room. "There are some things that I need to tell you all. Please don't say anything until I get this all out. I promise if you have any questions after I explain everything I'll do my best to answer them." She paused to look at everyone before she continued.

"Last night you called Mt. Horizon a boarding school and a summer camp but in reality it is so much more than either of those things. Mt. Horizon was founded by Frank Markasian after the death of his son. Frank watched his son battle a severe drug addiction that eventually caused him to take his own life. Frank battled his grief and guilt by finding a way to help others in a way he was never able to help his son. He founded a school with the sole purpose to give troubled teens a second chance."

"Mt. Horizon is a boarding school, a year round summer camp, but at its core it is a rehabilitation center. The students here all have something in their life that has hurt them in some way. Some of the kids here are here because their parents can no longer deal with their problems and some are here by order of the courts in place of juvenile hall. " Again she paused closing her eyes. "More than any of those things Mt. Horizon was the first place I ever felt at home. I was brought here by my mother when I was fifteen. I told you that the students are separated in to different groups. I was placed into the cliff hangers. We all fought it but eventually we came to trust one another."

" So you can understand what I mean about the type of kids that are sent here I want to tell you about some of the kids in my group." JJ opened her eyes again looking at everyone searching for their reactions. She could only see interest and confusion on the faces looking back at her. "Auggie was an extremely intelligent kid but had always had trouble in school. He was your typical inner city kid. His teachers and family simply assumed that his test scores proved that he was unintelligent. Thinking he would never have a real chance of making something of his life he followed in his older brothers footsteps. He got involved in gang life and drug dealing. Auggie was one of the kids who were sent here by the court system. He was not arrested for possession or the like he had been picked up for vandalism , graffiti. For him it was Mt. Horizon or Juvie."

A small smile came to JJ's face as she thought about who she wanted to talk about next. "As I said the kids who come here fall on every range of the spectrum. Daisy was brought here by her mother. Which is kind of ironic since her parents were the cause of her problems. Daisy was your typical rebellious teen. She had the goth look down to a science. She was morbid and cynical, she would do anything to get a reaction out of people. Both of her parents were alcoholics who liked to play happy family in front of their friends. They were a well off family and refused to admit to their own addiction and when Daisy began acting out her father began verbally and physically abusing her. One night in an alcoholic haze he raised his hand to Daisy and she fought back hitting him with his golf club. The next week her mother brought her here. Daisy didn't believe they sent her hear for her own benefit she believed it was because they could not find a way to explain away her actions any longer. Regardless Daisy didn't protest because it got her out of a bad situation."

"The problems these kids deal with are across the board. Abuse, neglect, drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, self harm, molestation, every kid that is hear had dealt with one or more of these things. There was one girl in my group who was repeatedly molested in her home. She had a habit of running away but each time was found and brought back home. She never told anyone what was happening because she was told that her silence was the only thing keeping her younger sister safe. The last time she ran away she made sure did everything she could to not be found. She ended up living on the streets. She started doing drugs and stealing. After about a month she ran out of what little money she had and had to find some way to survive. She met another girl close to her age that helped her and showed her the fastest way to making money. She sold the only thing she had… herself. One night she found her friend lying on the floor. She had overdosed."

JJ had been fighting tears as she told this story. She had closed her eyes not long after she began in hopes of keeping the team from seeing the pain in her eyes. Now they knew the story but how would they react when they found out she was the girl. "It wasn't long after that night that my mother found me and less than a week later she brought me here. It took close to four months before I told anyone why I was brought here but no one ever pushed. This was the first place I had never tried to run away from and that alone was more than enough for Peter to believe this was the best place for me."

As JJ finished speaking she stood up from her place on the desk and turned to look out the windows. The silence in the room was deafening. She was battling two desires. One was telling her to shut down and leave the room, run like always so that she did not have to face them. The other was telling her to turn around and stand proud of who she had become despite her past and know that her friends would not think any less of her.

Finally Garcia's voice broke the silence just as JJ felt hands on her shoulders. "JJ, you're my girl, you know that…" Garcia's voice was shaky. "I hate that you were that girl and I hate it even more that you ever felt like you had to hide any of this from us. But, you have to know what an amazing person you are and that I have never been more proud to know you."

Reid cut in squeezing JJ's shoulder "She's right, this changes nothing. Just like nothing changed when you found out about my mom."

"Or when you all learned about my childhood" Morgan said pulling JJ into a hug.

Fighting the tears was becoming more difficult and JJ needed something to distract herself from all of the emotions she was feeling. "Thank you" She whispered before pulling away from Morgan and facing the others.

She looked at Rossi, and Prentiss. She could see the pain and sympathy in Rossi's eyes. He was typically a serious person but she had seen his heard and knew how caring he could truly be. Emily's eyes were glassy as if she were also about to cry. She had once told JJ about the child she could have had and how that decision still haunted her sometimes. The situations were in no way similar but they still shared an understanding that sometimes you do things because you feel like there are no other options.

Finally she looked at Hotch. Aaron Hotchner was always a stoic man. In his position, doing the job that the agents in the BAU do it is easier to keep control of your emotions. This did not however mean that he was cold. The love Hotch had for his wife, and will always have for his son also extends to his team. He had always tried to keep his professional distance but when you would the hours and cases they do you cannot help but form strong bonds. JJ could see the hurt in his eyes, more than anything though she could see acceptance and pride.

"So now you know." JJ said before asking. "Do any of you have any questions for me? Please if you do don't hesitate to ask I would rather you do so than wonder about things later."

Not surprisingly Hotch was the first to speak. "First of all I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you ever had to live through any of that and I hope you know that you never have to be afraid of any of this affecting the way we feel or think about you. I am curious though, why was none of this in your personnel files?"

JJ shrugged. "I was never arrested or cited for anything. The counseling I received would have simply shown up as family therapy. The only thing that could have been in the file, and I don't know why it would or would not have been there is the records of my testimony after my mom's second husband was arrested."

"So you did eventually come forward?" Rossi asked. JJ nodded and explained that her mother pulled her out of Mt. Horizon because she needed help at home when her step dad became ill. During that time she found out that he had also been molesting her little sister.

"That was it for me. Knowing that she had been his victim as well… my time here taught me that I was strong enough to stand up to him and confront my mother about what was happening."

"Well I only want to know one thing." Emily said. "Yesterday during our video conference we heard someone call you Shelby…" she trailed off leaving the question unspoken.

JJ smiled. "That was Juliet. She is a teacher and counselor here. She was also a student here with me. We were both cliff hangers. At the time I asked everyone to call me Shelby because of a pet name _he_ gave me. Back then I was Shelby Merrick. After my mom met and married my dad –her third husband- I took his last name and started going by Jennifer again." She laughed. "There are a few people here who knew me back then and haven't gotten used to the difference yet."

"Oh I so have the ridiculous urge to start calling you Shelby now" Garcia laughed over the speaker.

"Don't" JJ said sternly "I'll deal with it from Peter, Sophie, Jules, or Scott but I've always been JJ to you guys and I really don't want that to change.

"Who, who, who and who? "Morgan asked.

JJ rolled her eyes "You met Peter and Scott earlier. Peter runs the school and Scott is the on campus doctor. Jules I just mentioned, and Sophie is Peter's wife who works in here as well. They were all here when I was Jules and Scott were both cliff hangers with me. I didn't tell you their stories when I was explaining everything because those are theirs to tell." JJ looked back to Hotch. "Thank you for giving me that time but anything else we can discuss later I'm ready to keep working on this case if the rest of you are."

Agent Prentiss and JJ walked up to the front door of quaint little house. They glanced at one another before knocking on the door of the Dawson home. Victimology is one of the most important parts of creating a profile but it is never an easy task, asking a victim's loved ones to talk about someone they have recently lost. It was a few moments before Mr. Dawson answered the door. They exchanged introductions and were shown into the living room.

Mrs. Dawson was already sitting on the couch. It was easy to see that the entire incident had truly taken its toll on her. It looked as if she had not slept at all since receiving the news of her son's horrible end. Again the agents exchanged a look. Seeing the older woman in such a state made the necessity of questioning her even more difficult.

Mr. Dawson looked apprehensive as he offered the agents a seat. "Would either of you like a coffee, I just started a fresh pot?"

"No thank you. We understand how difficult this is for you both and do not want to take up any more of your time that necessary." Agent Prentiss said.

Mr. Dawson sighed and sat next to his wife. "Alright, but I don't really understand why you need to speak to us, we've already spoken to the sheriff."

"Yes sir we understand that. As I explained over the phone Agent Jereau and I are here with the FBI's behavioral analysis unit. We have reason to believe that your son was one of a number of victims. Agent Jereau was visiting the school when another victim was found." Agent Prentiss said.

"The school? Are you saying that the rumors are true, those delinquent kids do have something to do with this?" Mr. Dawson spit out his question.

JJ winced at the accusation. "Mr. Dawson it is my understanding that you have lived in this town most of your life, correct?" He nodded in response. "Then I am sure you are well aware that over the years the students at Mt. Horizon have never caused problems in this town. If anything those kids are more a danger to themselves than to anyone else." She knew she was being more abrupt than normal but it irked her how easily the school could be blamed.

Agent Prentiss cut in hoping to ease the tension. "Mr. Dawson please understand we are here to help find out who took your son from you. The best way for us to begin to do that is to know as much about your son as possible."

For the first time since the agents entered the home Mrs. Dawson spoke. "Roger," she placed a hand atop his. "you and I both know those kids at the school didn't do this no matter what people are saying. Now what do you ladies need to know?"

For the next hour the agents listened to stories about Jack Dawson. They were shown his room and old photos. What they found most interesting was that he truly never had a routine. Even his work schedule varied. Jack's parents told the agents that he had not been looking forward to his weekend training. Mrs. Dawson's birthday was on Friday hand he felt guilt that he would be missing it. JJ and Prentiss had already read the sheriff's report that stated that Jack had left training early. With this new information they assumed that he had planned to come home early to surprise his mother and make up for missing her actual birthday. Neither of them wanted to mention this to the Dawsons for fear that it would make them feel guilt for their son's death. The information they received solidified the belief that the unsub chose Jack Dawson at random and had no prior knowledge of his activities.

Agent Rossi stepped out of the vehicle as they pulled up to the first crime scene. Other than the police tape and blood stain on the ground no one would ever know that something happened here. He narrowed his eyes and scanned the area. Although the road is a main thoroughfare in and out of the town it was plain to see that the traffic is sparse. He walked over to where the body was found with the car parked alongside the road and the trunk open an oncoming motorist would have had difficulty seeing Jack Dawson. With the surrounding forest an attacker could have easily hidden.

"And you said there were no signs of another person in the area let alone signs of struggle?" Rossi asked.

Sheriff Swann answered in the negative. Rossi made his way in to the surrounding wooded area looking for any type of markings or signs that someone had been there. Realistically outdoor crime scenes were difficult. The fact that weather could affect the scene made it hard to get a feel for what may have happened. The further in he walked the more dense the trees became. If this was indeed the way the unsub fled he may have had difficulty finding a clear path. Finally Rossi came across a small path.

"It's a game trail." Sheriff Swann explained. "They are common around here. Deer and other animals tend to follow the same paths through the trees. It makes hunting a bit easier because we can track their movement patterns."

Rossi nodded. This was not surprising to him. However what was surprising was the dark red mark on the trunk of a tree about three feet in on the game trail. "You said that you and your deputies searched this area after the body was found?"

Sheriff Swann nodded. They had looked for any signs of the suspect for over two hours but found nothing. He was not surprised however that they may have missed a blood stain since it was dark during their search.

"Have a crime scene tech get a sample of this and get it to a lab. Maybe it will give us some kind of lead."

Agent Morgan was in almost the same position as Agent Rossi. An outdoor crime scene with very little to go on. He had left the main lodge of Mt. Horizon shortly after listening to JJ tell them about her past and connection with Mt. Horizon. It had killed him to listen to her story. He knew all too well what that kind of abuse could do to someone yet he could not blame her for keeping her past from the team. He had done the same after all.

She had not been kidding when she told them that it would not be a quick trip to the second crime scene. It had taken them almost an hour to get there using the ATVs. One of the town deputies as well as the school's doctor accompanied him. Both Peter and Scott had offered to join Agent Morgan to the scene. There was no need for both of them to come along and hearing that it was Scott who was with JJ as when the body was found Derek felt that he would be the more beneficial of the two.

Scott explained to Agent Morgan that Peter had sent them ahead when he noticed something in the trees. He showed him exactly where the body was found and even went as far as walking him through the actions both he and JJ took after finding the body.

"Okay Scott before JJ sent you to back to Peter was there anything out of the ordinary that you noticed? Any movement in the area? Anything about the position of the body, anything about the victim at all?" Agent Morgan asked.

Scott thought about what he was being asked before answering. "No, um it was actually pretty quiet. I remember being concerned about leaving her even for a short amount of time." He closed his eyes and thought back. "I remember originally thinking it could have been an animal attack because of the amount of blood but… everything was too clean… even his uniform." He trailed of as something hit him. "Wait I didn't get a close look but now that I think about it, his uniform… the only thing that could have pointed to an animal attack was a tear on his uniform sleeve."

Agent Morgan thought about the police file he didn't remember something like that being noted in the report he would need to take another look when they got back to the lodge. "Alright let's head back there isn't much else here that is going to help."

As they made their way up the hill toward the ATVs Derek took in his surroundings. It really was an amazing area. He looked in the direction that Scott had indicated was the way they had hiked into the area. Derek found himself smiling and laughing to himself. "It couldn't have been an easy hike especially with the kids." He said while looking at Scott.

Scott shrugged. "Honestly it wasn't as bad as you might think. The kids are used to this type of thing. This one was a little harder than our normal day hikes but they handled it well. Actually they were not all that happy when the hike ended early."

Morgan shook his head. "I just cannot picture JJ trekking through the woods and climbing rocks. She's a tough one but … Hell she even told me once she was afraid of the woods."

Scott smiled. It seemed as if no matter how much her life had changed there were some things he knew that her new friends did not. "Shelby… um I mean JJ, she never did like to show how good at all this stuff she really is." He shook his head. "She used to whine and complain about our hikes all the time. As for being afraid… did she tell you why?"

Morgan looked at Scott and wondered exactly how close him and JJ had been when they were teens. When he had volunteered to accompany him to the crime scene Morgan had instantly remembered that JJ said Scott had been a student at Mt. Horizon with her. Scott's tone of voice as he spoke about JJ was a mixture of admiration and longing.

"No, she didn't. She made up some story about summer camp and then laughed when I believed it saying that she really didn't know the reason for her fear." Morgan explained.

"That's not surprising. I'm guessing she talked to you all about…" Scott trailed off unsure if he would be betraying her trust if he continued. As he looked at Agent Morgan he saw that the pain reflected in his eyes and knew that she had told her friends the truth. "If she had told you about why the woods scared her she would have felt like she had to explain about her time here."

Derek debated on asking Scott what he meant. After a moment he decided that after JJ had told her story there were most likely no secrets anymore. "So her fear came from something that happened when she was here?"

"Yeah" Scott nodded. "We um… You understand that as students there is more than just attending classes right? Well when students reach a certain point in their recovery they are sent on a solo campout. A counselor takes them to a small cabin as a safety location. Then the student is taken to a location away from the cabin and is to spend the night alone. They are given journals and some item from their childhood. Something that represents good memories. They are meant to use the time to think about the past present and how they can allow it to affect their future, for good or bad."

Derek was listening closely. At first he thought that such an activity could be considered dangerous but he realized that the school staff would do everything they could to maintain the safety of the students. His thoughts then went to what he would have done with that time had he been a student here.

"Most of the cliffhangers did their solos at the same time so we were all in the general area of the cabin." Scott paused remembering the events of that night and feeling the guilt and fear all over again. "Shel… JJ and I… we um had an argument a few days before and I broke the rules. I went looking for her. I wanted to talk but, well, she and I we both were a bit _stubborn _back then. We both had a lot of anger and we ended up arguing again. I still do not know if she left her camp because she was afraid I would come back… Anyway while we were out there a storm rolled in. It was bad, Sophie was the counselor with us she got everyone back to the cabin but when she went to get Shelby she was gone."

Scott again paused to take a deep breath. He hated that night. His fear that something had happened to Shelby and that it could have been his fault she was lost still ate away at him. Derek was not sure if he felt anger or sympathy for Scott. He could clearly see the regret of the man's face but if something had happened to JJ it would have been because of whatever argument they had had.

"The storm hit fast. It was freezing and pelting rain. On a normal day it's dark and difficult to find your way out here but with the weather it was ten times worse. Sophie told us to stay at the cabin while she looked for Shelby but I couldn't. I knew I had been wrong when we argued I knew it was my fault she was out there. Eventually I found her trying to find her way to the cabin; she was wrapped in a sleeping bag and soaked to the bone. After that night she refused to go into the woods alone at night."

"What was it that you had been arguing about?" Derek asked without thinking. Scott looked at him about to answer when Derek said. "Never mind that's none of my concern."

Scott shook his head. "No it's fine. If she already told you everything then… it's fine. Man I know it's no excuse but I was an ass, I was messed up and… Out of everyone I should have understood her past the most. I should have been the most accepting but I didn't and I wasn't. When she told me about how she survived on the streets…" He broke off his throat closing up with excess emotion. "I handled it completely wrong and it took almost losing her to realize how wrong I was."

A flash of anger shot through Derek at Scott's words but he quickly fought it back. He had to remind himself that they were teenagers back then. JJ had said they all had their own issues and he was sure whatever happened to Scott to put him at Mt. Horizon had fed his reactions to JJ's story.

Scott could see the array of emotions fly across the agent's face. He could not blame him for any anger he felt because Scott knew how wrong he was back then. It did not seem to take long before Agent Morgan calmed his thoughts and Scott was able to see a curiosity in his eyes.

"Did she tell you why I was here?" He asked.

Derek shook his head. "No, as a team we all agreed that we never profile each other. We know the importance of privacy. We're all close we have to be with the amount of time we spend together but there are some things that we keep to ourselves. Because of that I wasn't surprised when JJ told us that you and Juliet were here with her but would not say why."

"I can understand that." Scott gave him a small smile. "My story is similar to hers." Scott went on to tell Morgan about his step mom and how she seduced him. He explained how she convinced him that it was ok to be attracted to her and that she wanted it too. He told Morgan how she feed the idea that they were not doing anything wrong because it was love. He talked about how at first he believed her until he started feeling used and guilty and tried to make it stop.

Morgan listened to Scott's story. He felt sick at how this grown woman had practically brainwashed a sixteen year old boy. He hated that the things that happened to him cost him so much. Football had been Morgan's saving grace. It had gotten him away from the horrors that had happened to him but for Scott it was a reminder of a life that had been destroyed. It bothered him even more when Scott told him how he finally came forward but nothing could be done because his step mom had twisted the truth.

He now understood what Scott meant when he said that he should have been able to understand what JJ went through. He found himself sympathizing with Scott. Even with the similarities in their pasts they were still very different situations and he could not fault him for having a hard time coming to terms with what JJ went through. Morgan also could tell with the way Scott talked that he and JJ were more than just friends which would have made it that much harder dealing with what JJ had done.

"Listen man I know people say this and it's usually an empty sentiment but believe me when I say I'm sorry and I understand." Morgan said as he clapped a hand on Scott's shoulder.

Agent Hotchner had been on the phone with multiple detectives most of the morning. He informed them of the situation in Bakerville and of the BAUs involvement. Only two of the detectives were able to give him any extra information. They had explained that most of the information was in the files but were more than happy to share any of their personal observations with him.

He had found from rereading the files and speaking to the detectives that the unsub was in fact taking trophies. This information had not seemed important in the individual cases but as a whole it only served to strengthen the connection between the cases.

Hotch sat back in his chair trying to put the pieces together in his mind. Agent Rossi had called stating that they had found a blood stain not far from the first scene and that he was now on his way to the morgue to look at the bodies.

Glancing over to his right he saw that Reid had written on almost every part of the white board. Finding a comfort zone is essential to building this profile. There was something about this unsub that felt off. This did not feel like your typical serial killer. There was no sexual motivation that could be seen nor was this a case of abduction and torture. If it were not for the slight similarities between victims he would say that these were purely impulsive attacks.

"Hotch, I think I have something here." Reid called out.

Hotchner stood and walked over to Reid looking for whatever he had come up with.

"It's not immediately clear because each victim was in a different county or town which is why there was never a connection. Even when there was an attack in the same county it happened to be in a different jurisdiction as the other." Reid was pointing out these things on the map as he spoke. "Now if you look at the locations of the first five murders they are actually in the same general vicinity. The next two are three obviously shift locations as they are practically in opposite locations. I think what we are looking at is someone who is working with a reverse comfort zone."

Hotch could see exactly what Reid was saying from the pattern he had found it looked as if this unsub was working away from a specific area. This most likely meant they were trying to protect this area and avoid suspicion. The good thing about this is now they have an area that could be where the unsub lives or lived the down side is that nowhere else is safe.


End file.
